The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have combined to win nearly half (35 of 78) of the NBA championships since the league’s inception, and the two premier franchises took center stage Tuesday night on the NBA’s Opening Night.
Celtics 132, Knicks 109
There’s no championship hangover in Boston.
The Celtics hung their 18th banner and tried on their new rings in a pregame ceremony Tuesday night. They then proceeded to trounce the New York Knicks, picking up where they left off in June with a 132-109 win to open the new NBA season, tying a 3-point record in the process.
Jayson Tatum started the game with a 3-pointer in the game’s opening 10 seconds. It was a sign of things to come as Boston torched the Knicks with a 29-of-61 effort from 3-point distance, setting a new NBA record for 3s made in a single game. The Milwaukee Bucks previously set the record with 29 3-pointers in a 144-97 romp over the Miami Heat in 2020.
Tatum, who spent the bulk of his summer in Paris on the bench as a little-used Olympian, led the way and again showed his chops as the centerpiece of a championship team. He finished the game with 37 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds while shooting 14 of 18 from the field and 8 of 11 from 3.
Lakers vs. Timberwolves
The Lakers may have one of the most anticipated debuts for a second-round pick in NBA history as Bronny James suits up for his first regular-season game, and may take the floor with his legendary father as L.A. hosts Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. LeBron James has talked often throughout the years about wanting to play with his son, and the two did share the floor in the preseason. A father-son duo has never played together in the NBA, but Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. were the first to do so in Major League Baseball and will be in attendance tonight.
Yahoo Sports has you covered with previews of all 30 teams, hot takes, breakout candidates and much more. Stay with Yahoo Sports for live coverage of NBA Opening Night 2024 below.
Live36 updates
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LeBron, Bronny make their debut
With the Lakers holding a 51-35 lead in the second quarter, the long-awaited moment for the James family has arrived. LeBron James and his son Bronny just came off the bench together to make their father-son debut on an NBA court.
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Dalton Knecht drills first NBA 3-point attempt
Lakers rookie and former Tennessee star Dalton Knecht got his NBA career off to a strong start. He curled off a screen and pulled up to drill a 3-pointer from the top of the key on his first NBA field-goal attempt.
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Lakers run forces TWolves timeout
The Lakers have opened the second quarter with a 12-4 run to take a 34-27 lead. The Timberwolves called timeout in an effort to stop the bleeding.
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END OF Q1: Timberwolves 23, Lakers 22
Minnesota ends the quarter on an 11-4 run to take the first lead as the first quarter ends. Anthony Edwards leads all scorers with eight points.
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Lakers seem more active on the boards
One thing JJ Redick has spoken about improving with the Lakers is an emphasis on offensive rebounding, where they ranked last in the NBA last season. Early returns on that are solid, with four boards on 13 misses despite elite defensive rebounder Rudy Gobert being on the other team.
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Lakers lead 11-7 at first timeout
The Lakers might not have made many personnel changes over the offseason, but LeBron James still looking like LeBron James is nice. The Timberwolves offense still looks like a work in progress after trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, with as many turnovers as baskets.
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Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. in the house to watch LeBron and Bronny make history
Bronny James checking in and becoming the younger half of the NBA’s first on-court father-son pair is being treated as an eventuality. Two of the few people who can relate are in attendance.
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Lakers, and Rui Hachimura in particular, off to a good start
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Timberwolves-Lakers tips off
The new $110 million man wins the tip and we’re off at Crypto.com Arena.
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Rudy Gobert agrees to $110 million deal, while warming up
We’re a few minutes from the Timberwolves and Lakers tipping off. That didn’t stop Minnesota center Rudy Gobert from being reported to have landed a $110 million extension. No time is safe from NBA news.
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Celtics roll, don’t break 3-point record
That’s a wrap on a dominant opening night for the Boston Celtics. The Celtics cruised to a 132-109 in over the New York Knicks in their first game since winning last season’s NBA championship.
They tied the NBA record for 3-pointers with their 29th early in the fourth quarter. But they fell short of claiming it as their own, missing their last 13 3-point attempts after clearing the bench in the blowout. No matter. It was a night to celebrate in Boston.
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Karl-Anthony Towns calls it a night
The Celtics didn’t exactly give Karl-Anthony Towns the warmest welcome to the Knicks.
Assuming his night is done, as Boston holds a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter, Towns finished his debut for the Knicks with 12 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 3P), seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
The offense often looked discombobulated with Towns in the mix. He found himself out of position and in the way of the action on multiple occasions, not providing the space that his shoot ability should provide.
Defensively, it was worse. About as bad as the Knicks could have imagined. The Celtics scored 166 points per 100 possessions through the first three quarters, closing in on an NBA record for successful 3-pointers. The Knicks have been out-rebounded, though that may be because the Celtics rarely missed.
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Celtics tie 3-point record
Al Horford just hit a 3 for Boston’s 29th of the night, tying the all-time record for 3-pointers in an NBA game. There’s 8:35 remaining on the clock.
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Celtics 1 away from tying 3-point record
Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown each hit 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter, and the Celtics are up to 28, one away from tying the single-game NBA record.
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Celtics cruise into fourth quarter
The Celtics are keeping their foot on the gas and carry a 113-87 lead into the fourth quarter. The only question remaining is whether they’ll break the single game 3-point record.
It appears likely. They have 26 through three quarters. The record is 29 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.
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Celtics threatening single-game 3-point record
The Celtics are up to 24 made 3-pointers midway through the third quarter. The record for a single game is 29 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.
Here’s Jrue Holiday with No. 20:
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Mikal Bridges’ jumper? Maybe broken
While Boston’s Jayson Tatum dispelled of the notion that his shot was broken within minutes of opening tip, shooting 6-of-9 from 3 in Tuesday’s first half, Knicks counterpart Mikal Bridges cannot say the same.
Bridges missed all five his shot attempts in the opening half, including four 3-point attempts. He did not make his first shot until a smoother-looking corner 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
His shot clearly looks different, and he told reporters last week that he indeed changed his mechanics.
“When I came out of college, I kind of tweaked it a little bit,” he said. “Then my second year in the league, I had the hitch, and tried to build back from that ever since. So just trying to get it right. Pretty much it.”
The hitch is back. Bridges shot 2-for-19 from deep in the preseason. So why Bridges did feel the need to change his jumper. He is a career 37.5% 3-point shooter and shot 37.2% on 7.2 tries a game last season.
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Jaylen Brown opens the second half with a 3, and the Celtics are off to the races.
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Notable halftime stats
Celtics 74, Knicks 55
Celtics shooting: 27 of 49 (55.1%)
Knicks shooting: 22 of 38 (57.9%)Celtics 3-point shooting: 17 of 32 (53.1%)
Knicks 3-point shooting: 4 of 14 (28.6%)Jayson Tatum: 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds; 9 of 12 from the field, 6 of 9 from 3
Jaylen Brown (12 points), Derrick White (11) Jrue Holiday (10) all in double figuresJalen Brunson: 15 points, 2 assists; 6 of 7 from the field, 1 of 2 from 3
Karl-Anthony Towns: 12 points, 5 rebounds
Mikal Bridges: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists; 0 for 5 from the field, 0 for 4 from 3 -
Scorching Celtics roll to 74-55 halftime lead
The Celtics have been on fire from inside and out with no signs of a championship hangover midway through their season opener. They lead the Knicks, 74-55 at halftime after receiving their championship rings in a pregame ceremony.