Irving dazzles as Celtics win ninth straight
ATLANTA — 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 All-star 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 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 left, 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 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 win 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, one-handed passes that led to 3s by Marcus Smart and Tatum, the latter giving Boston a 7271 lead.
■ At Oakland, Calif., Kevin Durant scored 21 points and Draymond Green 18 for Golden State, which overcame 36.8 percent shooting to win its fourth straight. James Johnson had 21 points off the bench for Miami, which held the Warriors 22.7 points below their season scoring average.
■ At Phoenix, D’angelo Russell scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and totaled nine assists for Brooklyn, which rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit and halted a four-game skid. Joe Harris added a season-best 18 points for the Nets. T.J. Warren scored 20 points for Phoenix, which shot 34.9 percent in its third straight loss.
Warriors 97, Heat 80 — Nets 98, Suns 92 —