C’s Irving finds form
Scores 31 in win against Pistons
After scoring three points Saturday night in Detroit, Kyrie Irving knew his search for some semblance of inseason form was going to take time.
The definition of time in this case being three days.
That’s how long was needed for the Celtics guard, with a season-high 31-point performance, to lead the C’s to a narrow 108-105 win over Detroit last night.
The Celtics beat the previously undefeated Pistons for the second time in four nights, and have won their last three games, going back to last Thursday’s win in Oklahoma City.
There was an undercurrent during that stretch, with an eruption last night. Irving averaged 14 points on 39 percent shooting — 24 percent from downtown — before his 10-for-16 effort against the Pistons.
“Just taking shots they were giving me. Obviously some were contested, but I didn’t really see the hand there at this point,” he said of how the air cleared . “Just trying to shoot the shots that have been there the last few games. Some contests, but me taking those shots made the defense come out a lot higher and created some other opportunities for my teammates, which felt good. But we just want to keep the offense with the ball moving and obviously utilizing some guys’ unique talents. That’s where the focus is.”
Four other Celtics finished in double figures, including 15 points from Marcus Morris off the bench.
The Celtics withstood three Detroit 3-pointers in the last 24.7 seconds to survive this one, with Marcus Smart turning in the key defensive play when he deflected a Blake Griffin inbounds pass with 1.4 seconds left, and the Celtics leading by two points.
Detroit had cut the Celtics lead to 96-94 with 2:26 left on a Griffin jumper when Irving pulled another wrinkle out of his arsenal, banking a 17-footer with 2:07 left for a 98-94 lead.
Jaylen Brown, 5-for-12 to this point, followed with his first 3-pointer with 1:06 left for a 101-94 edge.
Griffin easily posted Irving off a switch, and when a trapped Irving missed a desperation 15-footer, Reggie Bullock cut the C’s edge to a basket with a 3-pointer.
But Morris, fouled, hit twice for a 103-99 lead with 15.1 seconds left.
Smart replaced Irving in the defensive end, and with 11.2 seconds left Ish Smith buried a left side trey to cut the Celtics lead to 103-102.
Jayson Tatum was fouled, and with 10.5 seconds left hit twice. Smart’s deflection of Griffin’s pass to Smith was scooped by Irving, who hit two more from the line.
Bullock hit Detroit’s third trey in a 23-second stretch, but Tatum finished the night off with a free throw.
Irving, after building to a boiling point in the first half, frothed over when he hit three 3-pointers in a 1:36 span midway through the third. The Celtics closed out the quarter with an 81-71 lead, and Irving with a season-high 25 points, including an 11-point third.
“It feels good, but also I think the mindset of just taking them as well,” he said. “I’ve been playing for a few years now, not as much as some of my peers but I think managing the way you start off the season and where you go, you try not to put too much pressure on yourself. I think my focus became not just on myself but how do I become a better leader for this team as well as the other leaders that we have?
“If that meant sacrificing a game or two to really emphasize moving the basketball and getting these guys going, then so be it. That’s just the unique challenge of the season for me is finding that balance of when to put the pedal to the gas and where do I find that balance? It’s still a task ongoing, but I’m more than willing to face it. I’m enjoying it. It’s not going to look pretty every single night. But it was good to have a few shots on my end, but my teammates, they did an unbelievable job of just continuing to exude that confidence, even in the first few games when I wasn’t shooting. I think it’s just fun to play basketball like that when all your teammates are supporting you no matter what.”
Regardless of his slump, Irving was rarely left alone.
“Some of the film I was watching, some of the shots I wasn’t taking or even collapsing the defense, they were still there,” he said of the defense. “The respect was still there . . . . But just taking them and knowing where they’re coming from, just getting more comfortable where guys like the basketball and they’re going to be aggressive and finding my spots as well . . . . It just came from just locking in and being ready to shoot the basketball, and my teammates were drawing and kicking for me.”