Josh Hart gets brutally honest about the Celtics
By Max Weisman
If it weren't for an uncharacteristic 13 missed three-point shots in a row, the Boston Celtics would have broken the Milwaukee Bucks record of 29 made threes in a single game. Instead, Boston will have to settle for tying the record, shooting 29-for-61 from behind the arc in their opening night 132-109 beatdown of the New York Knicks.
In a night where the Celtics raised their 18th banner to the TD Garden rafters, they reminded the rest of the league that three-point shooting runs the NBA now, and that they're still very good at it. Boston's shooting success had Knicks guard Josh Hart asking the league to double check them.
Josh Hart on the Celtics:
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 23, 2024
“The NBA needs to drug test them dudes. I ain’t ever seen anything like that.”
😭😭😭 (via @JLEdwardsIII) pic.twitter.com/arjSrjs6yw
"The NBA needs to drug test them dudes," Hart jokingly said. "I ain't ever seen anything like that."
Hart finished with only 12 points in the loss, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor. His six shots were the least any Knicks starter took. If there was a silver lining for the Knicks, it was Miles 'Deuce' McBride. McBride came off the bench and scored 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting, tying with Jalen Brunson as the Knicks leading scorer. The fourth-year player out of West Virginia averaged 8.3 points per game last season, but will likely see his usage increase this year. His 22 points were a great sign for the Knicks despite the blowout loss.
The Celtics jumped out to a 43-24 lead after the end of the first quarter behind 10 made threes, and the game felt over after its first 12 minutes. The Celtics didn't let up, leading by the same margin at halftime, and continued to shoot threes coming out of the locker room.
Remarkably, the Knicks outshot the Celtics, shooting 55.1% from the floor compared to the Celtics' 50.5% field-goal percentage, but that may have something to do with Boston missing 13 threes in a row to end the game as they looked to break the record. Without those misses, the Celtics shot 58.5% from the floor.
After being benched multiple times in the Paris Olympics, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum proved what a silly decision that was by USA coach Steve Kerr, scoring 37 points and adding 10 rebounds and four assists in the Celtics' win. He shot 14-for-18 from the floor and 8-for-11 from beyond the arc. All five Celtics starters scored in double figures and made at least three threes.
Tuesday night's opener showed the Celtics still seem to be head and shoulders above everyone else in the Eastern Conference, but it's a long season and it's just getting started.
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