BOSTON (AP) — The atmosphere in Boston was electric as the home crowd urged the Celtics on with chants of “One more 3!” in their game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. The Celtics attempted 13 shots from beyond the arc in a bid to break the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a single game, only to miss every one of them. Despite this, they secured a 132-109 victory and tied the existing record of 29 made 3s, previously set by Milwaukee in 2020.
“It felt like we got jinxed or something,” said Jaylen Brown, who scored 23 points, hitting 5 of 9 from 3-point range but suffered an airball when presented with a chance to break the record.
Brown commented on the game’s flow, saying, “When we were playing our style and having fun, everything was going in. The crowd was into it, but when we started hunting for the record, we couldn’t hit anything.”
Jayson Tatum was impressive, sinking 8 of 11 from long distance, while Derrick White added six 3-pointers as the Celtics made 29 out of their first 48 attempts from beyond the arc, establishing a commanding 35-point lead over the Knicks during a night when Boston celebrated its 18th championship banner.
The Celtics began explosively, making 10 of 17 3-pointers in the first quarter, allowing them to build a 19-point lead. They followed that with seven more in the second quarter and nine in the third. Al Horford equaled the record with a three-pointer from the left side with about nine minutes remaining in the game as the Celtics led by 33 points. However, the defending champions struggled to score afterwards.
Multiple players, including Brown and Xavier Tillman, delivered airballs from long range, and the Celtics could only manage three more baskets the rest of the way, all 2-pointers, with just one field goal after 6:37 into the fourth quarter. Neither team scored in the last 3:43 of the game.
Payton Pritchard led the team in missed attempts, hitting five bricks from long distance. Sam Hauser missed three, Tillman two, and Jordan Walsh added one more miss. The team finished with a total of 29 out of 61 from 3-point range.
“When we were tied, I thought, ‘We’re one away from the record,’” White reflected. “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it. It felt like a no-hitter. I blame myself.”