BOSTON (AP) — The new-look New York Knicks were no match in their first test against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
After a pair of big offseason moves that landed them Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the Knicks fell behind early and were blown out by the Celtics 132-109 on Tuesday in Boston’s banner raising night.
Looking to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000, the Knicks had trouble keeping up with Boston’s barrage of 3-pointers as the Celtics tied an NBA record with 29 made 3s.
It started early and didn’t get any better for New York.
“Defensively, obviously, we’ve got to be a lot better than we were,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They put a lot of pressure on you. ... Sometimes the initial shot we were able to get to, then the (rebound) went long over our heads.”
Towns finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in his New York debut. Bridges, brought in to help bolster their defense against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, added 16 points.
New York trailed by 19 after one quarter and the deficit ballooned to 26 after three quarters, setting up a long stretch of garbage time.
“They tied an NBA record in 3s,” New York guard Josh Hart said. “You have like three to four games a year where the team shoots the ball at an absurd clip, and sometimes there’s not much you can do about it.”
The Celtics finished 29 for 61 on 3-pointers and New York was just 11 for 30.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” Hart said. “Ring night and they came out.”
Hart even joked that Boston’s performance was unreal.
“The NBA needs to drug test all of them,” he said, smiling. “I’ve never ever seen nothing like that before.”
New York’s defense left Boston’s shooters wide open on numerous occasions. The Celtics moved the ball quickly around the perimeter and the Knicks seemed out of position many times.
“Personally, I’ve got to be better,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “We can dissect everything, or whatever, but they made a lot of 3s. We have to be better on both sides of the ball. I have to be better on both sides of the ball.”
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