Tatum caught fire from 3-point range and Boston put New York away early.
After a lackluster shooting performance during the previous postseason, Jayson Tatum put in plenty of work re-tooling his jumpshot in the offseason.
He looked completely comfortable bombarding the new-look Knicks with 3-pointers during the Celtics opening 132–109 win over New York at TD Garden Tuesday night.
Tatum set the tone, drilling six of his first nine 3 pointers, finishing 8-for-11 from deep and 14-for-18 overall. He scored a game-high 37 points and posted a double-double.
The parts of his game that had never waned during last year’s march to the title showed up fully intact as well. He fed his teammates consistently, notching 10 assists. The Celtics’ defense swarmed New York from the jump, grabbing a 19-point lead by halftime and putting the game out of reach early.
With Tatum focused, engaged, and hitting his shots, the rest of the team followed suit. They created open looks by swinging the ball around the court with efficiency.