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NBA opening night results, live updates: Celtics hang 18th banner, roll past Knicks; Bronny and LeBron could play together for the Lakers

NBA opening night results, live updates: Celtics hang 18th banner, roll past Knicks; Bronny and LeBron could play together for the Lakers
Posted on | Posted on angela

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 leading franchises took center stage on the NBA's opening night on Tuesday night.

There is no championship cat in Boston.

The Celtics hung their 18th banner and tried on their new rings in a pregame ceremony Tuesday night. They then defeated the New York Knicks and picked up where they left off in June with a 132-109 win to open the new NBA season, setting a 3-point record.

Jayson Tatum started the game with a 3-pointer in the first 10 seconds of the game. It was a sign of things to come when Boston torched the Knicks with 29-of-61 shooting from 3-point range, setting a new NBA record for 3-pointers made in a single game. The Milwaukee Bucks set the record back in 2020 with 29 3-pointers in a 144-97 win against the Miami Heat.

Tatum, who spent most of his summer in Paris on the bench as a little-used Olympian, led the way and once again showed his skills 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.

The Lakers may have one of the most anticipated debuts for a second-round pick in NBA history as Bronny James reports for his first regular-season game and potentially takes the floor alongside his legendary father, while LA's Anthony Edwards and hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves. LeBron James has spoken often over the years about wanting to play with his son, and the two shared the floor during 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 brings you previews of all 30 teams, hot takes, breakout candidates and more. Stay with Yahoo Sports below for live coverage of the 2024 NBA Opening Night.

Live32 updates

  • The Lakers appear to be more active on the boards

    One thing JJ Redick has said about the Lakers' improvement is the emphasis on offensive rebounding, where they ranked last in the NBA last season. The early results are solid, with four boards on 13 misses, despite elite defensive rebounder Rudy Gobert being on the other team.

  • The Lakers lead 11-7 for the first time

    The Lakers may not have made many personnel changes in the offseason, but LeBron James still looks like he could be nice. The Timberwolves' offense still appears to be a work in progress after trading Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, with as many turnovers as baskets.

  • Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. in the house to watch LeBron and Bronny make history

    Bronny James is being viewed as a possibility to become the younger half of the NBA's first father-son pair on the court. Two of the few people who can understand something are present.

  • The Lakers and especially Rui Hachimura got off to a good start

  • Timberwolves-Lakers tips

    The new $110 million man wins the tip and we're off to the Crypto.com Arena.

  • Rudy Gobert agrees to $110 million deal while warming up

    We're just minutes away from the Timberwolves and Lakers tipping off. However, that didn't stop Minnesota center Rudy Gobert from reportedly receiving a $110 million contract extension. No time is safe from NBA news.

  • Celtics roll, don't break 3-point record

    This caps off a dominant opening night for the Boston Celtics. The Celtics posted a 132-109 record against the New York Knicks in their first game since winning the NBA championship last season.

    With their 29th at the start of the fourth quarter, they set the NBA record for 3-point shots. But they failed to claim victory, missing their final 13 3-point attempts after coming off the bench in the blowout. Doesn't matter. It was a night of celebration in Boston.

  • It's over for Karl-Anthony Towns

    The Celtics didn't exactly give Karl-Anthony Towns the warmest welcome to the Knicks.

    Assuming his night is over and Boston has a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter, Towns finished his Knicks debut with 12 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 3P), seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.

    The offense often looked confused when Towns was in the game. He found himself out of position and in the way of the action on several occasions because he didn't provide the space that his shooting ability should provide.

    Defensively it was worse. About as bad as the Knicks could have imagined. The Celtics scored 166 points per 100 possessions in the first three quarters, closing in on an NBA record for successful 3-pointers. The Knicks out-rebounded, although that may be because the Celtics rarely missed.

  • Celtics set 3-point record

    Al Horford just hit a 3 for Boston's 29th of the night, tying the all-time record for 3-pointers made in an NBA game. There's still 8:35 left.

  • The Celtics are 1 away from tying the 3-point record

    Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown each scored 3 points to open the fourth quarter, and the Celtics now have 28 points, one away from tying the NBA single-game record.

  • The Celtics enter the fourth quarter

    The Celtics continue to accelerate and lead 113:87 into the fourth quarter. The only question that remains is whether they will break the 3-point record in a single game.

    It seems likely. You have 26 to three quarters. The Milwaukee Bucks' 2020 record is 29.

  • Celtics threaten single-game 3-pointers record

    The Celtics made up to 24 3-point shots midway through the third quarter. The Milwaukee Bucks single game record in 2020 is 29.

    Here's Jrue Holiday with No. 20:

  • Mikal Bridges' sweater? Maybe broken

    While Boston's Jayson Tatum dispelled the notion that his shot was broken within minutes of the opening tip by shooting 6 of 9 from 3 in the first half on Tuesday, Knicks counterpart Mikal Bridges can't say the same.

    Bridges missed all five of his shot attempts in the first half, including four 3-point attempts. He didn't make his first shot until the opening minutes of the third quarter, when he hit a smoother corner 3-pointer.

    His shot clearly looks different and he told reporters last week that he has actually changed his mechanics.

    “When I got out of college, I tweaked it a little bit,” he said. “Then my second year in the league I had the problem and have been trying to build back from it ever since. “So I'm just trying to do it right. Pretty much everything.”

    The trailer hitch is back. Bridges went 2-for-19 from deep in the preseason. So why did Bridges feel the need to change his sweater? He is a career 37.5 percent 3-point shooter and shot 37.2 percent on 7.2 attempts per game last season.

  • Jaylen Brown opened the second half with a 3 and the Celtics were off to the races.

  • Notable halftime stats

    Celtics 74, Knicks 55

    Celtics shooting: 27 out of 49 (55.1%)
    Knicks shooting: 22 out of 38 (57.9%)

    Celtics 3-point shooting: 17 of 32 (53.1%)
    Knicks 3-point shooting: 4 out 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 digits

    Jalen Brunson: 15 points, 2 assists; 6 of 7 from the field, 1 of 2 from 3
    Karl Anthony cities: 12 points, 5 rebounds
    Mikal Bridges: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists; 0 for 5 from the field, 0 for 4 from 3

  • The hot Celtics take a 74:55 lead at halftime

    The Celtics were on fire inside and out, with no signs of a championship hangover midway through the season opener. They led the Knicks 74-55 at halftime after receiving their championship rings in a pregame ceremony.

  • The Celtics do it on both ends of the court. Here's Jaylen Brown picking Jalen Brunson's pocket for an easy dunk on the other end.

  • Miles McBride is trying to keep the Knicks afloat

    A Knicks reserve is doing its best to keep New York in this situation. Miles McBride is 6 for 6 from the field and leads New York with 14 points. But midway through the second quarter, Boston leads 54-35.

    Jalen Brunson has 6 points and has made all three of his field goal attempts but hasn't scored since the start of the first quarter. Miles Bridges is 0-for-5 from the field so far in his Knicks debut, including 0-for-4 from 3-point range. Karl-Anthony Towns had 6 points and 4 rebounds.

  • Celtics made 10 1Q 3s

    Here's a look at all 10 three-pointers the Celtics made in the first quarter.

  • Jayson Tatum's shot? Not broken

    There were some concerns about Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum's jump shot over the summer. In the playoffs, he shot 28.3% from 3-point range. He missed every jump he made at the Olympics and competed in two of Team USA's six games in Paris, leading many observers to believe his shot had something to do with it.

    When asked about his errant jump at media day, Tatum acknowledged that he made some minor adjustments to his mechanics, but explained that such minor changes are standard practice for him.

    “I've been working a lot with my coach over the last few weeks,” he said last month. “A few mechanical things – pick-up points, hand placement, going deeper, keeping my shoulders forward and things like that.” … There were some things I could have fixed, but in the middle of the playoffs it's a little harder to try to create his peace. I still played well. I just didn't shoot the ball as well as I would have liked. And obviously we were on the rise, so it was neither the time nor the place to try to fix things at that moment.”

    If we learned anything in the opening minutes of Boston's first game, it's that Tatum's shot is anything but broken (if it ever was). He attempted six 3s in the first quarter and made four of them, giving the Celtics a 43-24 lead in the first frame. This after he had a long-range shot rate of 41.4% in the previous season.

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