Welcome back, Kyrie Irving! I know we’ve been watching Kyrie since training camp but tonight was the night he kicked down the door, stole your booze and left with your girl.
Oh, how I’ve missed those shake-and-bake dribble drives and three-point barrages. Irving dazzled the TD Garden with 13 3rd quarter points (and a game-high 31) in a 108 – 105 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Of course, nothing is easy. That double-digit 3rd quarter lead evaporated when the Celtics went limp and failed to score for about 6 minutes in the 4th quarter. Irving, Mook, and Jaylen helped right the ship with some clutch buckets. But the game wasn’t sealed until Marcus Smart hit the deck and poked away the ball with 8 seconds remaining.
Game Flow
Surprisingly, this was an offensive show in the first half (58-56 Detroit). Not surprisingly, the officials were terrible (27 combined fouls). The 3rd quarter belonged to Irving (his 13 points equaled the Pistons output) and the 4th quarter was a frustrating shit-show.
Hot and Not
Irving went 10-16 FG, 4-7 3 FG, and 7-8 FT. Coming into this game his numbers: 39% FG, 24% 3 FG, and 69% FT.
Marcus Morris led the bench with 15 points on 5-11 FG. He’s averaging 14.4 points (49.3% FG, 48.4% 3-PT) and 7.4 rebounds. Can you say Sixth Man of the Year?!
Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum combined to shoot 7- 22.
Highlights
Zig. Zag. Stare😳 pic.twitter.com/XtlkBu0WTo
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) October 30, 2018
HORFORD THROWS DOWN THE HAMMER pic.twitter.com/I4Hu6kmlch
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) October 31, 2018
Ky-three Irving amirite? https://t.co/9uy5Z402Mg
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 31, 2018
Stay out of Yabu's way! (@AAANe_MAnews) #AAANortheast pic.twitter.com/B3PBMu9TzC
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 31, 2018
What in the hell?
Reggie Jackson trick shot for the first half LEAD! #KiaTipOff18 #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/8J5c8Xbu8m
— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2018
“It was about time, honestly.” Kyrie Irving’s response when asked why it was important to get it going tonight.
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