Irving pours in 40, answers when Celtics need him most

CELTICS 121, 76ERS 114 (OT)

BOSTON — Kyrie Irving extended the game with a clutch shot, then ended it with two more in overtime.

Irving scored six of his 40 points in overtime, hitting back-to-back three-pointers while leading Boston back from a five-point deficit as the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 121-114 on Tuesday night.

“Just competition at its highest. I love going against the best. It’s not too often you get to do that in the regular season, especially on a holiday like Christmas,” said Irving, who also pulled down 10 rebounds. “I got to open presents with my family this morning then come into work. It was great.”

It came very close to not being so great for Boston, which needed Irving’s fadeaway jumper from 13 feet out to tie it at 108-108 with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, forcing the overtime.

The Sixers, much improved from the team that lost here 105-87 in the season opener, scored the first five points of overtime but could not stop Irving when they needed to.

“There aren’t many in his weight class,” Philadelphia Coach Brett Brown said. “Inevitably, you’ve got to stop him.”

Irving hit a three-pointer with 2:01 left to put Boston up 115-114, then struck again from 30 feet with 1:29 remaining in overtime.

Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris scored 23 apiece for Boston, and Terry Rozier had 10 points.

Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 34 points, making 12 of 12 free throws, and pulled down 16 rebounds. Jimmy Butler scored 24, JJ Redick had 17 points, and Ben Simmons added 11 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists for the Sixers.

Simmons’ two free throws with 2:15 left to put the Sixers up 114-112, but Philadelphia didn’t score again.

“These are the type of games that challenge you mentally, and we made sure that we stayed with it and finished it,” said Al Horford, who scored just four points but pulled down nine rebounds and helped mitigate the Sixers’ size advantage inside.

The Celtics led 57-51 at halftime, but Philadelphia used a 15-2 run in the third while shooting 60 percent in the period and led 89-86 entering the fourth.

It stayed tight through the end of the fourth. Wilson Chandler got open for a three-pointer with 37 seconds left and the Sixers led 108-106, then Irving pulled up for a 13foot jumper to tie it at 108-108 with 20 seconds left.

Redick missed a jumper just before the buzzer and the game went into overtime.

BUCKS 109, KNICKS 95

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 14 rebounds in his Christmas debut, and the Milwaukee Bucks celebrated their return to the holiday schedule by beating the New York Knicks in New York.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points for the Bucks, who played on Christmas for the first time since 1977. They were selected for the showcase slate of games largely because of Antetokounmpo but the timing also was perfect to show an emerging team, which improved the NBA’s second-best record to 23-10.

Malcolm Brogdon finished with 17 points for the Bucks, who bounced back from a loss to Miami on Saturday to win for the fifth time in six games.

Rookie Kevin Knox scored 21 points for the Knicks, who have lost six consecutive Christmas Day games and fell to 22-31 in their NBA-record 53 appearances on the holiday.

New York has lost five in a row and 10 of 11 since rallying to stun the Bucks 136-134 in overtime on Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden.