The Celtics defeated the Knicks and tied the three-point record in the American Basketball League with 29 points

BOSTON — The Celtics and Knicks took on the NBA season opener on Tuesday night, a matchup that New York guard Jalen Brunson said earlier in the day was a fair measure — despite it being the first game — of where the new-look Knicks stand against the defending champions. .

But instead of tension, the only drama at TD Garden was watching Boston spend the final minutes of its 132-109 win trying — and ultimately failing — to break the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a single game.

After Al Horford drained Boston’s third straight, he made a 3 to start the fourth quarter with 8:54 remaining — pulling the team into a tie with the 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks for the league mark at 29 3s a game — and then the Celtics went on to miss 13 straight attempts to break record, including three volleys and several other ugly fouls.

Despite fans chanting “one more 3” on several occasions, it wasn’t enough for Boston to get over the line. That was the only thing that went wrong for the Celtics on an evening when they completely dominated the Knicks, who were playing their first game with offseason acquisitions Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Boston quickly showed it was going to have a big night when it came out and went 10-for-16 from 3-point range in the first quarter before matching a franchise record of 17 three-pointers while taking a 19-point lead into the half.

In addition to totaling 29 3-pointers, Boston shot 50% from the field in the game and finished with 33 assists compared to just three turnovers.

Boston ultimately outscored New York by 54 points from behind the arc (the Knicks had 11 3-pointers) and nearly made more 3-pointers than New York attempted in total (30) on the evening.