Celtics-Knicks season opener had the most bizarre ending
Dec 17, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; The Boston Celtics logo is seen before their game against the Golden State Warriors at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Celtics started their season off with a win. However, some Celtics fans still left Tuesday’s game feeling at least a bit disappointed.
The Celtics crushed the New York Knicks 132-109 on opening night at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. What was billed as a clash between two of the Eastern Conference’s elites turned into a one-sided beatdown in a hurry. The Celtics’ weapon of choice? The three-pointer.
The defending champions hit ten threes in the first quarter to bury the Knicks in a double-digit hole the visitors would never get out of.
Celtics made 10 THREES in the 1st quarter 😳🤯 pic.twitter.com/qUZ8115uXj
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 23, 2024
The Knicks trailed the Celtics by at least 19 points throughout the entire second half. But despite the game’s result never being in question late, there was still some drama in the fourth quarter. Al Horford hit a three-pointer with 8:54 left to give the Celtics a commanding 126-93 lead. The triple was the Celtics’ 29th of the night, which tied the NBA record for most threes made by a team in a single game.
The rest of the game then devolved into the Knicks trying to prevent the Celtics from breaking the three-point record. Boston’s all-bench lineup repeatedly tried and failed to make the three that would have put the team over the top.
The Celtics even botched a possession in which they got three good looks to seal the deal.
Celtics had THREE chances to go for the record and come up short on all three attempts 😬
Boston missed 10 straight triples going for this record.pic.twitter.com/qfk5PDRjXp
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 23, 2024
The defending champions appeared to have one final chance with about 30 seconds left in the contest. But the team decided to dribble out the clock instead. The fans hilariously booed their own team despite Boston being up by 23 over arguably the second-best team in the East.
The fans are booing the #Celtics for not taking another three 😂😂
They tied the NBA record for most made threes before missing 13 straight pic.twitter.com/XKUfb4wTg6
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) October 23, 2024
The Celtics ended up missing their last 13 threes to fall one shot short of breaking the record. Boston will have to settle with sharing the current record with the 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks.