Celtics remain undefeated behind Jayson Tatum’s 37-point game

Still, the Celtics targeted Towns often on screens and they connected on an NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers in the game, including eight by Jayson Tatum, six by Derrick White, five by Jaylen Brown and three by veteran center Al Horford.  “You’ve gotta give credit where credit is due. They hit a lot of 3s, they hit a lot of shots,” said Towns, who was acquired in the deal that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota just before the start of training camp. “You take 61 threes in a game, they definitely shoot the ball, so we gotta be better defensively. I just think that we just didn’t do enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win the game. -via New York Post / October 23, 2024

Bridges also was the Knicks’ primary defender against Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, who buried 8 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 37 points to front Boston’s NBA record-tying 29 treys for the game. “I definitely could have done better. I think my performance at the defensive end wasn’t that [good] for me personally, as well as our team,” said Bridges, who finished a team-worst minus-33 in 35 minutes. “Me personally, I think I just could have been better, especially [against] a guy getting it and having that rhythm from the three, just getting up a little bit more [on Tatum]. “He had a nice move on me in the paint, as well. Just gotta be better. I mean, Game 1, just gotta learn from it, and just get better from it.” -via New York Post / October 23, 2024

Chris Iseman: Final: Celtics 132, Knicks 109 Boston finishes with 29 threes, one shy of an NBA record. Jayson Tatum had 37 points. It’s only one game, but the Knicks have some things to fix. -via Twitter @ChrisIseman / October 22, 2024