About Last Night: Kyrie prepares raptors

Sports



[ad_1]

As an NBA champion and three-time finalist, Celtics star Kyrie Irving has extensive experience on the brightest stage that professional basketball can offer.

And yet, it was in mid-November, five months before the playoffs start, licking their chops during a regular season game.

For good reason: The Raptors were bringing their best NBA record, 12-3, to Boston for a possible – even ridiculously early – preview of the final phase of the Eastern Conference.

"I'm excited for this game," Irving said before Friday's game. "Obviously, one game at a time, but it's only the dream of a competitor to compete with the best of the best."

As he has done over and over over the years, Irving has shown up to the competition by scoring one of the best games of his career, with 43-point highs and 11 assists in a thrilling 123-116 victory in overtime. For Elias Sports, Irving is the first Celtic with over 40 points and over 10 assists since Antoine Walker in 2001, and third overall. (General question: What other big Boston did he do? Answer below.)

Anchored by Irving's ridiculous efficiency – the five-time All-Star hit 18 of 26 shots in just three turnovers – the Celtics overcame some mid-game difficulties to end the game on a 20-point score. 9.

It was not really a complete turnaround for a team with the NBA's seventh worst offensive performance. But with Jayson Tatum scoring 21 points and Gordon Hayward making a few throws / decks in the far right, the Celtics seemed at least closer to the competitor who was waiting for them more than the mediocre 8-6 that came into play.

"It's great (for us) to see growth," said Irving, referring to the 12-point loss to the Raptors last month. "To have a good game on Friday night, face the Toronto Raptors … great."

Kyrie Irving illuminates the Raptors for 43 points.

Starting shot

Given his aggression, he forced his exit from Minnesota. So it should not be a surprise that Jimmy Butler is not about to go into the night with his new team.

Playing for his first home game with the 76ers, Butler had 28 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, with seven assists against the 113-107 Jazz.

Then came his post-match interview, in which he … well, listen to yourself.

Not that Timberwolves are likely to feel as well injured by Butler's potty pot. They led the Blazers by 16 for their third consecutive victory since his expulsion.

Wake up call

The Bucks put a full half to realize that they had played a game on Friday.

Once they did, the results could not have been much more impressive.

Down 22 late in the second quarter and 18 at the break, the Bucks came to life with a monstrous third period of 46 points, eventually surpassing the Bulls 37 in the second half, en route to a rout of 123-104.

According to Kevin Pelton of ESPN, the Bucks narrowly missed the record for the widest margin of victory after losing at least 18 points in the half.

Their second-half scorecard was a masterpiece of the philosophy of modern basketball, with only two of their 27 buckets coming out of the paint or 3-point line.

And maybe even better: The Bucks did not need Giannis Antetokounmpo to be ridiculously awesome to fuel the return. Eric Bledsoe scored 25 goals, Khris Middleton added 23, and the Bucks shot down 18 points to 3-28 with 28 assists.

"We knew we were not playing hard enough," said Antetokounmpo. "(Coach Mike Budenholzer) was angry, he was really pissed off, we do not need this type of half to catch up with, and from the first minutes of the game we have to set the tone."

Budenholzer said, "We have a lot of credit for putting things in place and playing the way we want to play."

Tweets that have not aged well

Such enthusiasm was not keen after Davis scored two points in the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center, at which point the Knicks were leading by 16.

Unfortunately for Robinson and his teammates, NBA games last four quarters.

By the time they had elapsed, the Knicks were leaving New Orleans limping in the face of a truly dominant performance by Davis, who was recovering from his poor start to a record 43 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. in 129. -124 victory.

Enes Kanter summed up the attack as such:

Unfortunate realization

The jazz goaltender Donovan Mitchell has also set up an impressive line, but of a whole other variety.

By scoring 35 shots unassisted, he became the first player to reach those thresholds since Carmelo Anthony in 2014 and the fourth since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-1977.

And unlike Anthony, who finished with 62 points, a career high, Mitchell converted only 13 shots en route for a relatively low score of 31.

All the credit goes to Mitchell, who has at least admitted his share of the horror show: "I took 35 shots. It can not happen. No help. That's not what I am, that's not what I was. t arrive. "

Single form

The evolution of Markelle Fultz's shooting continues, and it's … something.

Adorable

Little J.T. Holiday helps his father warm up for Friday's game:

Question of trivia

Answer: Larry Bird, who did it for the first time in 1986 and five more times thereafter.

[ad_2]
Source link

Tags

Powered by https://naaju.com/us | Designed by Naaju
© Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved