Kyrie Irving equalled his season-high of 40 points as the Brooklyn Nets beat his former side Boston Celtics.
Boston’s four-game winning streak was ended by the brilliance of Irving as he scored 40 points to lead the Nets to a 121-109 victory over the Celtics in the Barclays Centre on Thursday night.
The 2016 NBA champion displayed his class, shooting 15 of 23 from the field and scoring 40 points with eight rebounds and three assists, as Brooklyn secured their 11th win in 12 games.
James Harden also continued his impressive form scoring 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Landry Shamet added 18 points and Joe Harris 12 as the hosts won without Kevin Durant and newcomer Blake Griffin.
Steve Nash pleased with Brooklyn’s display
Nets head coach Steve Nash was full of praise for his side post-match: ‘Obviously Kyrie was sensational, James managed the game as he does but everyone made big shots on the night, Landry made the big three when we were struggling most.
‘Our effort was there and our concentration was there to see it through, I was proud of the way we resumed play.’
Nash also expressed his pleasure with Harden’s defence, as he added: ‘He’s been very good for us defensively, he has high IQ which allows him to dictate and quarterback the defence in a lot of ways and he is very underrated on the ball.’
This was the first encounter of the season between the two Eastern Conference giants and it certainly lived up to expectation.
The game saw the Celtics leading at the end of each of the first and third quarters. However, the scoreline was marginal and after a very end-to-end game the Nets pulled away in the final few minutes to win 121-109.
Boston posed moments of ambition but fell short as they lacked answers either end of the court. Irving’s two threes and two free throws haunted his old team in the final quarter, before Jeff Green’s two-handed slam dunk decided the outcome.
Boston will be pleased with Marcus Smart’s injury return
It was not all doom and gloom for Boston as Marcus Smart made his long-awaited return after tearing his calf muscle against the LA Lakers in January which forced him to the sidelines for six weeks.
Boston’s fight was fuelled through Jayson Tatum’s 31 points and Smart’s 19 points off the bench in his return to action, but the rest of the team struggled.
Key players Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker combined to shoot 10 of 35 from the field, proving it to be too much of a challenge to see off any chance of a victory for the Celtics.
The Nets will host a struggling Detroit Pistons on Saturday as they look to remain in contention for this season’s NBA Finals.
The requirements are similar for Boston where they remain in fourth position in the Eastern Conference after Thursday’s defeat. Next up for them is a trip to the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
By Kyle Pogue-Elms
