Kyrie Irving’s Finest Performance Keeps Streak Alive in Dallas
The Boston Celtics needed every bit of Kyrie Irving’s 47 point performance to keep the streak alive
The Boston Celtics have done some crazy things during this stretch, and their 16th straight win, against the Dallas Mavericks, may have been the most ridiculous game. They once again needed to come back from double digits, this time in the fourth quarter, and they had no room for error to close out the game.
The Celtics did what they do on both ends, forcing turnovers and getting the ball in Kyrie Irving‘s hands. Once it got to overtime, Irving shut everything down on both ends, and carried the Celtics with his best performance of the season.
With 47 points and six assists, Irving played one of the most complete offensive games of his career. He scored in every way imaginable, and saved his best for when they needed it most. He got to the free throw line when things slowed down, he drove at will, and he created space no matter who the Mavericks tried to throw at him.
Irving carried an otherwise dead offense, boosting their three point percentage by almost 10 percent by himself. Jaylen Brown was the only other real help on the offensive end, and the two of them are starting to take over games, and dominate opposing back courts on both ends.
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This really is not the way the Celtics want to beat a team like the Mavericks, but that is how it has been during this entire streak. Nothing has gone according to plan, and the Celtics have seen crazy runs in almost every single game. The one constant continues to be that the Celtics will find any way necessary to win the game. Tonight, it was 47 points from Irving, who finished +21 in an eight point victory.
The second unit has been struggling to score for a while now, and Al Horford had one of his worst games of the season on that end. The youngsters, Jayson Tatum and Brown, were the only other ones with a real impact on offense, doing just enough to make sure Irving had his opportunity to close out that game, and once again he delivered.
The Celtics gave up over 100 points, which is a rarity this season. Considering the Mavericks needed overtime to get there, the defense did their job in this one. They did not dominate in the interior like we are used to, but the defense made sure the offense had a chance to win this game.
If the entire team could have come together, this game would not have been nearly as close. Fortunately, this team is perfectly comfortable making up for parts of the game that are not meeting expectations, and Irving put the ceiling of how much he can make up for on display tonight.
Next: Celtics' Chances of Winning the East
The streak lives on, and the Celtics are making it as interesting as possible. They have been on the brink of blowing this streak in almost every single game, and finding so many different ways to win has been the highlight of the season. That being said, it is hard enough to maintain a streak while playing at your, and it is starting to feel impossible for the Celtics to keep up what they have been doing. As each game goes on, it looks less and less likely that the Celtics can keep it up, but it also looks harder and harder for anyone to find a way to beat them.