Why Boston felt “jinxed” at the end of the win over the Knicks

BOSTON – The Celtics had the New York Knicks under control until the fourth quarter and had their sights set on an NBA record Tuesday night with plenty of time to accomplish the feat.

Al Horford drained Boston's 29th triple with 8:54 left, tying the record for most 3-pointers made in a single game. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Celtics would break the record given how ferocious they were from beyond the arc that night.

But then there was one failure after another. And when the final buzzer sounded in Boston's 132-109 victory at TD Garden, the Celtics were still down to 29 treys, having missed their last 13 3-point attempts.

It was really the only blemish on an otherwise dominant performance.

“It was almost like we were put under a spell or something,” Jaylen Brown said. “When we just played, had fun and played our style of basketball, everything went right. And then when the crowd started and we started chasing them, we couldn't even hit the right side of the barn. As if everything had failed. We got a lot of great looks and it was like a lid on the basket.”

The Celtics, who finished 29 of 61 (47.5%) from distance, fired up the Knicks with their long-range shots from the start. Boston converted a stunning 10 of 17 three-point shots in the first quarter and dropped seven more points in the second quarter. The avalanche of 3-pointers continued in the third quarter, with Boston hitting 9 of 13 attempts.

The barrage also came from all directions. Jayson Tatum, who scored a game-high 37 points on extremely efficient 14-for-18 shooting, knocked down eight 3-pointers, while Derrick White sank six points and Brown sank five points.

“The shot felt good,” Tatum said. “I had a good rhythm and things like that. I think, especially on offense, I felt like we were picking up where we left off last year.”

The Celtics averaged the most 3-point attempts per game a season ago at 42.5. If they keep up the pace, they will break this mark.

Jacking up 3-point shots is a staple of Joe Mazzulla ball, where it feels like the best shot comes from behind the arc. But the Celtics learned a valuable lesson from the end of their shooting drill against the Knicks.

“It just shows that we’re not a team that goes for threes,” Brown said. “I mean, we play the game and do what we're supposed to do. But I think towards the end it was difficult because we weren't playing like we normally did. But we still had a lot of great looks.”

Here are more notes from Tuesday's Celtics-Knicks game:

— The Celtics started the evening celebratory. They received their championship rings and raised Banner 18 from the rafters of the TD Garden. Mazzulla even had an unexpected moment during the pregame ceremony.

– The Celtics quickly put the celebrations behind them and overwhelmed the Knicks, which impressed Mazzulla. The Celtics led 43-24 after the first 12 minutes and scored 74 points at halftime

“The biggest thing I’m proud of is the mindset of the guys,” Mazzulla said. “They weren’t stuck in the past. We were able to move from what got us to where we were to what we want to achieve with the intangibles and they came out and it was a great start. We were physical on defense and played together on offense, and that’s a credit to them.”

– Boston’s starting five continues to pack a punch. Tatum, Brown, White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford combined for 113 points.

– The Celtics look to make it two wins in a row to start the 2024-25 season when they take on the Washington Wizards on Thursday night. The start date at Capital One Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.