NEW YORK – Kyrie Irving tied his maximum 40-point season Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, securing his fifth game with 40 or more points since joining the Brooklyn Nets before the 2019-20 season. Only two players – Vince Carter and John Williamson – have had more games of this type for the franchise.
After the Brooklyn Nets’ 121-109 victory over Boston, Irving hugged his former teammates before leaving the apartment.
“Great surprise for a lot of people,” Irving said jokingly. “All of that — talking about me and all the relationships I have with all of my former teammates.”
Irving played for the Celtics from 2017 to 2019. The Nets guard have added 77 combined points against Boston this season. Still, Irving said facing his old team would not necessarily add more fuel to his game, but that he hoped to see the Celtics in the playoffs.
“I’m just waiting for the main stage,” Irving said. “Playing in front of millions of people and it really matters winning or losing or coming home. I’m looking forward to that, but playing games like this in mid-season against guys you know well is always a blessing.”
Former Irving teammate Marcus Smart called Irving’s performance “vintage Kyrie,” but added that shooters around Irving made the Nets particularly difficult to protect. Landry Shamet scored 18 points for Brooklyn off the bench, while Joe Harris added 12 points and Jeff Green finished with 11.
James Harden scored 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who have now won 11 of their last 12 games. After the game, Harden said he could feel the team shaking some post-All-Star rust at first, but that Irving helped them win.
“It’s a different race,” Harden said of Irving. “He has this killer mindset in a sense, regardless of who we play or where we’re playing, who will go out there and try to destroy the opponent, and that’s what you’d want from your team. ‘this league’.