Celtics launch title defense on high note

BOSTON (AFP) — Jayson Tatum scored 37 points as the Boston Celtics launched the defense of their National Basketball Association crown with an emphatic 132-109 defeat of the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

After a triumphant pre-game ceremony that saw Boston celebrate raising their record-breaking 18th championship banner, the Celtics delivered a performance that suggested they could well be the team to beat once more.

A devastating 43-point first quarter put Boston in complete control during the first half, with Tatum producing an electric shooting performance to pour in 18 points from three-point range over the two quarters.

Tatum had brought the house down in a pre-game address to a packed TD Garden, signaling the Celtics’ determination to win back-to-back championships and he was pleased with the way the team then got right down to business.

“I’m really proud of the way we played. Tonight was emotional — a celebration of what we accomplished last year,” Tatum said.

“For a lot of us, that was our first experience getting a ring and raising the banner. So tonight was special. To kind of have to reset and go try to win a basketball game against a really good team...the way that we just came out and responded and played the right way,” he added.

Boston powered to last season’s NBA championship after winning 64 games in the regular season before dropping just three games in the playoffs, sealing victory with a 4-1 rout of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

That win came after years of frustrating postseason disappointments, which included a 4-2 defeat to Golden State in the 2022 NBA Finals and an agonizing 4-3 loss to Miami in the 2023 Western Conference finals.

The Celtics have retained the core of the team from last season’s roster and look well-positioned to mount a serious defense of their title.

Against New York on Tuesday, Joe Mazzulla’s team picked up where they had left off in June, with all of their heavy-hitters coming up big to leave the Knicks chasing the game for long periods.