BOSTON — The Celtics feasted on the Knicks after their coronation ceremony.
Touted as the top threat to Boston in the East, New York put up the resistance of a wet paper bag in Tuesday’s ghastly and concerning season-opening defeat in Beantown, 132-109.
It was a mess right away for the Knicks, who trotted out its expensive and star-studded lineup and trailed by as many as 21 in the first quarter.
Tom Thibodeau’s squad never recovered.
It folded, in fact, allowing the deficit to hit 35 in the second half while serving as compliant guests to a Boston “Three” Party.
The Celtics knocked down 29 from beyond the arc, tying the NBA record.
It was so embarrassing and noncompetitive that the Boston crowd, in the final minutes, kept chanting, “One more 3” because the Celtics were a trey short of the all-time record.
With the starters already pulled, the Celtics reserves obliged by launching attempts on every possession but couldn’t convert.
Issues for the Knicks were widespread but none more glaring than the first half from Mikal Bridges, who altered his form before the season, threw up bricks in preseason and was misfiring early Tuesday as if infected by a case of yips.
The Knicks even tried to help Bridges’ confidence by giving him a technical foul shot in the third quarter.
He missed.
Bridges, acquired for five first-round picks in the summer, finally broke the seal in the second half and finished strong with 16 points on 7 of 13 shooting.
If there was any positive Tuesday, it was Bridges perhaps getting off the schneid at the end.
But Bridges was also barbecued on defense by Jayson Tatum, who dropped 37 points in 30 minutes – including 8 of 11 on 3-pointers.
The Knicks were outscored by 33 points with Bridges on the court.
The Celtics, who received their championship rings before tipoff, had clear and uncontested looks at the rim.
It would’ve been hard to imagine a worse debut for Leon Rose’s construction.
Jalen Brunson (22 points, 9-for-14 shooting) and Miles McBride (22 points, 8-for-10) were strong individually on offense.
But the debut from Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points, seven rebounds) was underwhelming and the Knicks looked like they didn’t belong in the same league as the Celtics, let alone as any threat to dethrone them.
Boston won every statistical category and the Knicks, who swapped out rim protection and rebounding for shooting and spacing in the offseason, grabbed only five offensive boards, well below their league-leading 12.7 from last season.