Did Kyrie Irving just have his best game as a Boston Celtic?
In a game against the Eastern Conference’s top team so far in the Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics came away with a win and gave everyone a very good reason why they should still be considered a true title contender: Kyrie Irving.
The Celtics point guard went off and then some on the Raptors on Friday night, dropping 43 points on 18-of-26 shooting and 11 assists. That points and assists combination was something the 26-year-old star had never accomplished in his NBA career.
Kyrie Irving recorded 40+ points and 10+ assists in the same game for the first time in his NBA career
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) November 17, 2018
Additionally, Irving also scored the 10,000th point of his career.
Of course, Irving didn’t just score 43 points. He ripped the Raptors apart down the stretch. He carried the Celtics to victory by scoring 23 points and assisting on 13 more during the fourth quarter and overtime, a stretch in which the Raptors scored just 34 points, per ESPN Stats and Info.
“You tweak everything when he’s going like that,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said after the game.
The Celtics aren’t going to get 43 and 11 from Irving every night, but the team’s supporting cast, by and large, had an encouraging performance. Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Marcus Morris all reached double-digits in points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
The team also moved away from its usual high-volume 3-point shooting, which had become a problematic tendency on offense. Despite entering the game ranking third in the NBA in three-point shots with 37.4 per game, the Celtics attempted only 26, their second-lowest total of the season. Irving noted that change after the game.
Kyrie Irving: "Any time we get to the rim like that, in any game, that’s when our runs start. Obviously we can get some great 3s in transition but when we’re attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line we’re a totally different team."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 17, 2018
As the Celtics’ main facilitator and its best attacker, the onus will be on Irving to keep the team on that path. Friday was a good step forward, and one that did not go unnoticed by a certain ex-teammate of Irving’s.
That boi Ky was in his 💼 tonight!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 17, 2018
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