BOSTON — Key players from this chapter in the team’s storied history gather in the center of the court, including Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, as highlights play on an overhead jumbotron. , reliving his tenure at TD Garden, which culminated in Tuesday’s game. NBA championship ring ceremony.
“JB and I have been teammates for seven years,” Tatum said. “I was 19 years old when we got drafted, Al was in his 10th year, and now he’s in his 18th year. The journey we’ve all been on together has brought us this far. “It was great to share that moment with those two.” Everyone, just soak it up, enjoy it, and embrace it.”
“It was just starting to take root,” Brown added. “Me, JT and Al were together and felt it. We were shocked when we won, but today all the emotions calmed down. We were like, ‘We did it!'” Suffice it to say, we accomplished something amazing. My name, along with my teammates, will be etched in the history of the Celtics, one of the greatest franchises not only in basketball, but in sports. ”
Before them were Celtics legends Bob Cousy, Cedric Maxwell, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — another chapter in the Celtics legend. Behind them, the league record 18th championship flag was about to be hoisted into the rafters. And once that was done, Tatum grabbed the microphone and addressed the Garden crowd.
It wasn’t much of a game after Jayson Tatum and the Celtics got a ring on Tuesday night. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
“To the best fans in the world, let’s do it again,” he said.
So the New York Knicks were to play a basketball game against the new bejeweled champions. If the goal was to ruin Boston’s night, the Knicks failed miserably. The Celtics took a 20-point lead in the first quarter, tied an NBA record with 29 3-pointers, and won 132-109.
It was beautiful basketball representing Boston. They became the fourth team in NBA history to record at least 30 assists, 20 made threes and commit five or fewer turnovers while recording shooting splits of 51/48/88.
For the Knicks, who have the second-best odds to win in the Eastern Conference, rookies Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges combined for 28 points on 22 shots, much of it after the outcome was decided. It was. They looked lost at times, as if they didn’t know how to complement Jalen Brunson yet.
“That’s an easy excuse,” Branson said, “and yet we were treated badly.”
Bridges missed his first five shots of the game and did little to allay concerns about his new-look jumper. His first shot came off a corner kick in the opening minutes of the second half, with the Knicks trailing by 26 points.
“I don’t care about the noise around Michal and his shot,” Knicks teammate Josh Hart said. “We don’t care about that. He’s working hard every day. He’s going to get better. Any discussion around that is stupid. After all, he shoots about 40 percent from 3-point range. There’s something stupid about that.” ”
On the bright side, Bridges made seven of his last eight shots. The bright side ended there. Time will tell if the Knicks can close the gap on Boston. It’s good that they have time. We still have a long way to go.
New York’s defense acted as if it didn’t know that the Celtics led the league in 3-point shooting last season. They didn’t even have to hunt them. Every expression was nice. The biggest benefactor was Tatum, who got into a rhythm in the pick-and-roll and made 14 of 18 shots (8 of 11 from 3) for 37 points.
So much for concerns about Tatum’s erratic shooting stroke. He won MVP in Game 1.
“The shot felt good,” Tatum said. “Offensively, we felt like we picked up where we left off last season. We got almost everyone back. We played to our strengths. We know what we’re trying to do. I know where I’m going to attack. I know what sets and actions to include. we’re always working on it. ”
Brown and Derrick White added 23 and 24 points, respectively. Horford, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser reached double digits. Yes, it looked like the reigning champion had picked up where he left off. They moved the ball, spaced the floor, and executed at a level their main competitors couldn’t reach.
“There are three or four games a year where teams just shoot the ball at a ridiculous clip,” Hart added. “Give them credit. Great energy, ring night, they came out and hit the ball in a way I’ve only seen once before.”
The rest of the league has to argue that this was an anomaly. Because to think the Celtics are actually this good this early on, to think they have any chance of replicating this throughout the season, is to accept the inevitable repetition.
But for Boston, Tuesday felt like something inherited from a past dynasty. Now that we have won, something is different about this team. They know they are champions.
“To have Bob Cousy, KG, Paul, Cedric Maxwell, all these winning players in this building, it’s like they’re passing on the torch,” Brown said. “We were fighting back against them at the start of the game, which was great. This is what we tried to do. When I got drafted my rookie year, this is what I said I was going to do. I’m going to fight to fight. ‘It’s great to see that flag flying in this city.’
Efforts to take on an Atlantic Division rival and line up a new team began anew. Given a second chance to reconsider his pregame speech, Tatum instead doubled down. “I know we’re not supposed to talk about repeats, but the fans were so excited that I said, ‘Fuck it, let’s do it again.'”
