Irving injured as Celtics roll

Kyrie Irving heard all of the doubts when the Celtics, who were among the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, still had a .500 record through Thanksgiving.

The low point may have been a home loss to the Knicks that snapped New York’s six- game losing streak.

“I was thinking about it since we lost to them,” the Celtics point guard said after scoring 22 points to coast past the Knicks 128100 on Thursday night and exact a measure of revenge for the embarrassing earlier loss. “I remember players from other teams asking about what’s going on when we were 10-10.”

Irving left the game with about four minutes left, rubbing his right shoulder and swinging it around in pain. He raised his hand for coach Brad Stevens to take him out of the game but couldn’t get his attention and instead walked to the bench at the next whistle. The shoulder was wrapped in ice when he walked off the court at

the end of the game.

Jaylen Brown returned after missing three games with a bruised lower back and scored a season-high 21 points. The Celtics won their fourth straight.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 for New York, which has lost four of its past five.

JAZZ 118, ROCKETS 91 » Derrick Favors had 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to help Utah overcome Rudy Gobert’s quick ejection. The Jazz played the bulk of the game without its starting center after Gobert was ejected less than three minutes into the first half. He picked up his first foul on the opening tip. After picking up his second foul at the 9:13 mark of the first quarter, Gobert got tossed when he swatted a cup off the scorer’s table in frustration. TRAIL BLAZERS 108, SUNS 86 » Damian Lillard had 25 points and eight assists before sitting for the final quarter, and Portland snapped a three-game losing streak. The Blazers, who had lost six of their past seven games, led by as many as 31 points.