Jayson Tatum catches fire as the Celtics cheer on the Knicks on opening night

Celtics

Tatum caught fire from 3-point range and Boston held off New York early.

After a poor shooting performance in the previous postseason, Jayson Tatum put a lot of work into reworking his jump shot in the offseason.

He seemed perfectly comfortable bombarding the new-look Knicks with 3-pointers during the Celtics' first 132–109 win over New York on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Tatum set the tone by making six of his first nine 3-pointers and putting the ball on target 8 of 11 from deep and 14 of 18 overall. He scored a game-high 37 points and recorded a double-double.

The parts of his game that had never wavered during last year's march to the title also appeared fully intact. He regularly provided his teammates with ten assists. The Celtics' defense overran New York from the start, securing a 19-point halftime lead and putting the game out of reach early.

Tatum was focused, committed and hitting his shots, and the rest of the team followed his lead. They created an open look by swinging the ball around the field efficiently.

They buried ten three-pointers in the first quarter and never looked back. At one point, with two minutes left in the third quarter, the team's 3-point shooting percentage was higher than its overall field goal percentage, both at just under 60 percent.

It was a dominant performance against the Knicks, who finished second in the Eastern Conference standings and invested heavily in their roster in hopes of chasing the Celtics.

New York re-signed OG Anunoby to a huge deal, trading five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges and sending Julius Randle and Donte Divencenzo to Minnesota in exchange for center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was asked before the game about the Knicks' acquisitions. He said the “enemy” had become stronger. He was so fixated that he could remember the exact date of a particular trade.

The Celtics showed no signs of lacking intensity on the night they raised their record 18th championship banner and accepted their championship rings.

They defeated one of the most dangerous opponents in their conference in front of a loud home crowd and Celtic legends like Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Bob Cousy.

Tatum knew he had to make some changes to his jumper after shooting a career-low 28.3 percent in the playoffs last year. Earlier this month, he told reporters that he had made a few mechanical adjustments, including keeping his shoulders forward to increase strength.

He started the new season full of vigor, which resulted in the Celtics torching the Knicks.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports reporter

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Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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