Kyrie Irving responded with 39 points in front of a nearly full capacity crowd after a not-so-great Game 3, as the Brooklyn Nets went on to dominate the Boston Celtics 141-126 in Game 4 of their first-round series. Irving also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Irving got himself established into the flow of the Nets’ offense early, finishing with 12 points in the opening period including seven free-throws in the first quarter.
Irving then put up 11 points in the next period, as one of his 3-pointers ended up pushing Brooklyn’s lead up to 13 with just under 3:40 left in the second.
Irving was back to hitting pull-up threes, transition threes and finishing it at the rim like we’re accustomed to seeing, but he threw a little something extra down in the third quarter.
Irving didn’t earn his “Uncle Drew” nickname for his dunking skills, but man, he can sure throw one down!
The Nets were leading by a very comfortable 21 points at the start of the fourth, but Irving showed no mercy, as he dropped in back-to-back triples to effectively take the wind out of Boston’s sails.
Sunday night’s performance from Irving completely shut down the narrative that he’s too scared to play in Boston and that he can’t handle a hostile environment.
“Kyrie has been through some tough times in his life that’s off the basketball court, so him coming in here, this is his sanctuary,” Kevin Durant said about Irving. “No matter what’s being said from the stands, he knows that everybody in between those lines respects him for who he is as a player, as a person, and his teammates have his back. We didn’t worry about handling this crowd. Everybody throws insults at every player in this league. He came out here and wanted to play better than he did last game, and he came out here and executed.”
KD Was Unstoppable
Kevin Durant put up a game-high 42 points on 14-of-20 shooting, joining James Harden, Vince Carter and Drazen Petrovic as the only Nets to put up at least 40 points in a playoff game.
Durant needed no time to get going, as he dropped 17 points in the opening frame.
Boston led for the majority of the first, but when you’re facing off against Durant, any lead can quickly be evaporated, as was the case in this instance.
Durant used his smooth pull-up jumper, driving abilities and knack for getting to the free-throw line to help erase Boston’s lead, which grew to as many as nine points within the first few minutes of the game.
In the third, with the Nets up much more comfortably, Durant didn’t lay his foot off the gas, as he poured in another 17 points to help extend the Nets’ lead to as many as 27.
Harden Sets Playoff Career-High in Assists
James Harden chipped in 23 points on just 8-of-12 shooting, but where he made his mark was on his assists, as he dished out 18 of them, coming one assist shy of Jason Kidd‘s record for most assists in a playoff game in franchise history.
Half of those assists went to a combination of Irving and Durant, but he unlocked the absolute best out of Bruce Brown, as five of Brown’s six made field goal attempts came off assists from “The Beard.”
Harden worked to find Brown inside the paint, whether it be on cuts to the rim for layups and dunks or getting a good position on smaller or similar-sized defenders for floaters and hook shots.
Even on assists to Irving and Durant, Harden’s threat as a pull-up jump shooter attracted double teams on several occasions, as that freed both of them up to take advantage of holes in the Celtics’ defense to do their damage.
“Just being aggressive, not to score but just to be a playmaker,” Harden said about playoff career-high in assists. “Credit the guys. They made shots and finished the basketball well, but our pace, our energy, our movement was very, very good. I just saw spots on the floor where I could be aggressive and when I saw somebody open to get them the ball. We made shots. I just tried to communicate, especially with guys like Bruce, where to be on the court to get him going a little bit. You play like that, I don’t know how many assists we had as a team, but play like that, 29 assists, the ball’s moving, guys are getting open shots.”
Scary Hours Makes History
When Harden declared that it’s going to be “Scary Hours” upon his arrival to Brooklyn, he wasn’t kidding.
When all three guys have it cooking, and Harden can continue to flirt with Kidd’s assist records in franchise history, there is just no stopping this team. Don’t be surprised if this trio eventually sets their own record for most points as a trio in a playoff game.
