NEW YORK – Kyrie Irving equaled a 40-point high on Thursday night against the Boston Celtics and recorded his fifth game with 40 or more points since joining the Brooklyn Nets before the 2019-20 season. Only two players – Vince Carter and John Williamson – have had such games for the franchise yet.
After the Brooklyn Nets’ 121-109 victory over Boston, Irving embraced his former teammates before stepping off the floor.
“Big surprise for a lot of people,” Irving said jokingly. “It all — talks about me and all the relationships I have with every former teammate of mine.”
Irving played for the Celtics from 2017 to 2019. The Nets’ guard has scored a combined 77 points against Boston this season. Still, Irving said that the face of his former team did not necessarily add extra fuel to his game, but that he expects the Celtics to be in the playoffs.
“I’m just waiting for the main stage,” Irving said. “To play in front of millions of people and it really matters in terms of winning or losing or going home. I look forward to it, but such games in the middle of the season against guys you know well, it’s always a blessing . “
Irving’s former teammate Marcus Smart called Irving’s performance ‘vintage Kyrie’, but added that the snipers around Irving made the Nets particularly difficult to protect. Landry Shamet had 18 points for Brooklyn off the bench, while Joe Harris added 12 points and Jeff Green finished with 11.
James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who have now won 11 of their last 12 games. After the game, Harden said he could feel early on that the team was shaking off some rust from the All-Star, but that Irving helped them win.
“He’s a different race,” Harden said of Irving. “He has the killer mentality in the sense of, no matter who we play or where we play, he’s going to go there and try to destroy the opponent, and that’s something you want in your team at all. That mentality distinguishes him of many guys in this league. ‘