Celtics hold off Hawks for ninth straight win
Warriors overcome shooting woes to beat Heat
ATLANTA, Nov 7, (AP): Kyrie Irving took charge in a fashion only he can.
Dribbling and weaving through the lane and around the perimeter, Irving scored from all over and kept his teammates involved all night.
“It’s a beautiful game when it’s played the right way,” the four-time AllStar said. “It’s not going to look good every possession, but you’ve got to be able to move onto the next play. I understand that better than most.”
Irving scored 35 points, Jayson Tatum added 21 and the Boston Celtics held off the Atlanta Hawks 110-107 Monday night for their ninth straight victory.
Irving’s 3 from the right wing put the Celtics up 104-103 — the game’s 25th lead change — with 1:37 remaining, and Boston led the rest of the way.
Dennis Schroder had 23 points for the rebuilding Hawks, who dropped to 2-9 a night after a surprising two-point win at Cleveland.
“It would’ve been sweet to win two
Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives past Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroner (17) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Nov 6, in Atlanta. Boston
won 110-107. (AP)
in a row against those kinds of teams,” Schroder said. “But we ended up short.”
Boston improved to 9-2, best in the NBA, and has its longest winning streak in seven years.
Al Horford had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in his best game against the Hawks. Horford spent his first nine seasons in Atlanta before leaving as a free agent ahead of last season and had totals of 20 points and 17 rebounds in three games against his former team.
Irving had his first 30-point game as a Celtic on a night packed with highlights. He dribbled between his legs and behind his back before hitting a floater off the glass from the left baseline to put Boston up 46-44. He had two impressive assists late in the third with long, onehanded passes that led to 3s by Marcus Smart and Tatum, the latter giving Boston a 72-71 lead.
Irving either scored or assisted on every basket of a 16-2 run in the third that put the Celtics up by seven. He finished with seven assists.
“He’s just very unique,” Horford said. “He has a good sense of how teams Miami Heat forward James Johnson (right), drives the ball against Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant during the
first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Nov 6, in Oakland, California. (AP)
are playing him.”
The Celtics started to pull away and took their biggest lead at 10 on Semi Ojeleye’s 3 early in the fourth, but the Hawks came back to take a few brief leads in the final period.
“To compete the way we did and give ourselves a chance to win, we got better tonight and we can learn from it,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenhozler said.
Boston coach Brad Stevens wasn’t pleased with the ball movement or defense early in the third, storming the floor to call timeout after Atlanta’s Luke Babbit hit a 3 to put the Hawks up 57-54.
“You could just tell mentally and physically we were dragging a little bit,” Irving said. “That’s going to happen sometimes considering how hard we play, but we don’t want to make that a habit for us. No excuse.”
Budenholzer joked before the game that he regretted having his assistants work with the 6-foot-10 Horford a couple of years ago to develop a strong presence beyond the perimeter. Horford,
who went just 1 for 5 on 3s, entered the game shooting nearly 52 percent on 33 attempts from the arc.
“I think there was just a real push from us and a credit to him that he could do it,” Budenholzer said. “It’s part of the way the game is, and his passing just opens up the court even more for him to drive and attack. He’s such a good player, such a smart player.”
Celtics: Irving has scored more points — 245 — than any player in his first 11 games with Boston ... With Marcus Morris getting the night off to rest his sore left knee, Aron Baynes started at center and finished with just two points and three rebounds in 15 minutes.
Hawks: Malcolm Delaney returned after missing two games with a sprained right ankle and had 13 points. Marco Belinelli scored 19 despite a sore left Achilles.
Warriors 97, Heat 80 In Oakland, California, Kevin Durant had 21 points and eight rebounds to help Golden State overcome its shooting
woes and beat Miami in a rare low-scoring outing.
Draymond Green scored 18 points with a season-high four 3s to go with nine rebounds as the defending NBA champions won for the seventh time in their last eight games, including three straight in lopsided fashion on their recent road trip.
The Warriors had scored 100 points in every regular-season game since their second-to-last matchup last season, a 105-99 defeat to Utah as the regulars rested or played limited minutes ahead of the playoffs. Golden State is 3-11 over the past three seasons when held below 100 points.
Nets 98, Suns 92 In Phoenix, D’Angelo Russell had 23 points and eight assists, Joe Harris scored a season-high 18 points and Brooklyn beat Phoenix.
The Suns rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to lead 75-74 after Jared Dudley’s layup with 9:17 to play, but the Nets went back ahead moments later and held on to end a four-game skid.