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NEW YORK – Kyrie Irving tied his season record 40 points Thursday night against the Boston Celtics, scoring his fifth game with 40 or more points since joining the Brooklyn Nets ahead of 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 win over Boston, Irving hugged his former teammates before leaving the floor.
“Big surprise for a lot of people,” Irving said jokingly. “All of this … is about me and all the relationships I have with each of my former teammates.”
Irving played for the Celtics from 2017 to 2019. The Nets guard has scored a total of 77 points against Boston this season. Still, Irving said facing his former team didn’t necessarily add extra fuel to his game, but he expected 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’s really important in terms of winning or losing or coming home. I’m looking forward to that, but games like this in the middle of the season against guys that you know well, blessing. “
Former Irving teammate Marcus Smart called Irving’s performance “vintage Kyrie,” but added that the snipers around Irving made the Nets particularly difficult to keep. Landry Shamet had 18 points for Brooklyn on the bench, while Joe Harris added 12 points and Jeff Green finished with 11.
James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who have now won 11 of their last 12 games. After the game, Harden said early on he could feel the team were shedding some post-All-Star rust, but Irving helped them win.
“It’s a different breed,” Harden said of Irving. “He’s got that killer mentality in the sense that no matter who we play or where we play he’s going to go out there and try to destroy the opponent, and that’s something you would want on your team at all. . That mentality is what sets him apart from a lot of guys in this league. “
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