Kyrie Irving’s Scoring Comes Alive In Win Over Hawks

Kyrie Irving put up over 25 points for the first time all season in a 110-107 victory over the Hawks on Monday night.

It was not the cleanest win for the Boston Celtics on Monday night as they allowed the 2-9 Atlanta Hawks to shoot 48.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep, a significantly encouraging sign arose from the Green’s 110-107 triumph.

Somewhat shockingly, Kyrie Irving had yet to net over 25 points in a game until Monday, when he erupted for 35 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field. Despite garnering 24 points on three separate occasions in October and 25 points in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last Friday night, he had not been able to light up the scoring chart in the fashion that we witnessed during his time in Cleveland.

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After scoring 25.2 points per game with the Cavaliers last season despite being LeBron James‘ understudy, Irving posted 21.7 points per game in October and under 20 per night over the first three games of November. He had shown flashes of the takeover scoring ability that had him in the conversation of the top ten players in the league over the first few weeks of the season, but Monday’s showing assured fans that he could still put the ball in the bucket at will.

Irving’s first basket of the game, scored three minutes in, was quintessential Kyrie. After receiving a screen from Aron Baynes on the right wing, he blew past both point guard Dennis Schroder and the hedging Dewayne Dedmon after freezing them with a hesitation dribble. He then sprinted towards the baseline, where he capped off the drive with a silky left-handed finish on the right side of the rim.

Plays like these showcase Irving’s pure wizardry with the basketball. Isaiah Thomas carved up defenders last season with the hesitation dribble, but his explosiveness off of the move leaves something to be desired compared to Irving’s breakaway speed.

Something that Celtics fans have gotten accustomed to seeing is Irving’s efficiency on the pull-up jumper while driving to his right. Watching Irving’s love for the pull-up is similar to Thomas’ ability to spring up on an instant and float a jumper over the defender as they back off into the paint to take away his drive. The difference with Irving is that it appears as if he can rise up and hit the jump shot without even looking at the rim until the last second. His release his so speedy that it is difficult for the defender to get a bead on him.

We witnessed this scenario unfold with six minutes left in the second quarter and the Celtics down by six. Irving came off of a screen from Al Horford and drove to the right elbow, giving defender Taurean Prince zero clues as to whether he was going to release a jumper. As soon as he got to the high elbow, however, he realized that Prince was backing off, expecting him to penetrate. Irving took advantage, rising up and knocking down the 18-footer.

Thomas captured the hearts of the Boston crowd with his fourth quarter heroics a season ago, making impossible shots look easy in the clutches of situations. One of his most memorable fourth stanza performances came in Atlanta last January, when he knocked down a game-winning midrange jumper to give the Celtics a walk-off win. Irving put another green dagger in the hearts of the Hawks on Monday.

With Boston down 103-101 with under two minutes to go, Irving received a handoff from Horford on the right wing. Horford was able to chip Irving’s defender, Kent Bazemore, with a screen, giving Irving a split second to release a deep three-pointer off of a left-handed dribble. Just before the 6’5″ Bazemore was able to tip the shot, the ball left Irving’s fingertips, sailing into the hoop to give the Celtics a one-point lead.

As Boston carried a 107-105 lead into the game’s final 30 seconds, they needed one insurance bucket to seal the deal. Irving was not deferring. He drove past Schroder on the left wing, carrying it towards the middle of the paint before releasing a right-handed floater over the outstretched arm of Malcolm Delaney to provide his team with a commanding four-point lead they would not

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relinquish.

These are the types of plays that made Thomas the most beloved Celtic since Paul Pierce. If Irving can continue to take over games with his scoring, expect Boston to keep eking out these three-point victories.