Banner Night II

Shank covers the first home gane for the 2024 - 2025 Boston Celtics:

From Bob Cousy to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Celtics history is second to none

Born in 1946, winners of multiple championships in every decade from the 1950s through the 1980s, the Boston Celtics and their extra large family gathered on Causeway Street to raise the franchise’s 18th championship banner Tuesday night before opening their season on the parquet floor with a 132-109 massacre of the New York Knicks.

It was a night to honor Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the other Celtic champs who shredded the NBA in a 16-3 playoff run that concluded just four months ago.

Tatum (37 points in 30 minutes, and he was 8 of 11 on 3-pointers) and Brown (23 points, 5 of 9 on threes) picked up where they left off as the Celtics hit a record-tying 29 from long range against the punch-drunk Knicks.

“I can honestly say, you’re the best fans in the world and let’s do it again,” Tatum told the crowd before the 2024 NBA champs took turns pulling on ropes to raise the banner.