A trip to Irving Island is usually solo and fruitless. That’s because a trip to said island means a one-on-one date with Kyrie Irving, one of the league’s most gifted isolation scorers, who dazzled for 40 points with only eight missed shots in the Nets’ 121-109 win over the Celtics on Thursday.
It was yet another revenge game for Irving, who has come close to 40 points in both games against the Celtics this season — the only games he’s played against his former team since leaving Boston for Brooklyn two summers ago.
When Irving has it going, there are few teams, let alone players, who can slow him down. Jaylen Brown is, by all accounts, Boston’s best defender, but Irving left him in the dust, driving right, then spinning back left for a fade-away shot on one play. Marcus Smart is, by all accounts, Boston’s second-best defender, but also stood no chance against Irving’s barrage of behind-the-back crossovers before another mid-range pull-up.
Picking up a scorer outside the three-point line is usually the best way to stop him from getting into a rhythm, but Irving beat that defense, too, pulling up for a three just a few steps inside the halfcourt Nets logo.
For Irving, revenge is a dish served red-hot. He scored 37 points in the Nets’ Christmas Day win over the Celtics, then one ... no, two ... no, three-upped himself with a 40-ball against his former team on Thursday. But the win didn’t come from Irving alone.
James Harden struggled from the field, shooting just 6-of-16, but reserve sharpshooter Landry Shamet exploded for 18 points off the bench. He made his first four threes and finished six-of-nine from downtown, with head coach Steve Nash closing the game with Shamet on the floor.
Veteran forward Jeff Green also came off the bench and scored 11, hitting a pair of threes.
The Celtics didn’t make it easy. Boston built an early 11-point lead before Irving got it going. Then he took over and the Celtics didn’t have an answer for him.
The Nets built a lead as big as 12 at one point, but the Celtics stayed in the game, one flurry of baskets after another. Jayson Tatum scored 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting, matching Irving’s aggression on offense, but Brown shot just 5-of-23 in 40 minutes on the floor. Kemba Walker, the Bronx native who replaced Irving in Boston’s lineup, shot just 1-of-7 from three-point range and finished with 11 points.
The Nets picked up where they left off before the All-Star break and are now winners of 11 of their last 12 games. While it was Harden who captained the Nets to a near perfect streak entering the break, it was Irving’s dazzling play that sustained their momentum in the second half of the season.
