Kyrie Irving carried his Boston Celtics past the Toronto Raptors, in a game that could easily be a preview of what's to come this spring between these two teams.
Irving scored 43 points against the Raptors, with 23 of those points coming from the fourth quarter and overtime. He also produced eleven assists with two rebounds. The Celtics definitely wouldn't have beat the Raptors if it wasn't for the performance of Irving.
The Raptors and the Celtics battled back and forth all game. Which forced the game into overtime, and Irving took over the game and leading his team to a 123 to 116 victory. This game seemed to have the type of atmosphere similar to a playoff game would.
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The Celtics also desperately needed this victory and especially in this fashion. They've struggled to find much chemistry this season so far. Which wasn't the same story last night.
As a team, they shot 52.8 percent from the field, and 34.6 percent from the three-point line. They also took advantage every time the Raptors turned the ball over on offense. The Celtics scored 18 fast break points, while also scoring 19 points off the Raptors 14 turnovers.
The Celtics also finally got some constant performance out of forward, Gordon Hayward. He played 39 minutes and scored 15 points, while also producing five assists and five rebounds. Hayward has been inconsistent for the majority of this season, but it looks like all he needs is big-time minutes to find some constancy.
Despite last night's dominating performance, Irving has been having a less productive season compared to what he's accustomed to. He's averaging slightly fewer goals and points per game.
Irving is also coming off a season where he only played in 60 games following a second knee surgery on his already repaired knee. But, he looks fully healthy and he proved that by showing he can still carry his team when they need him to.
However, we are only a month into the season. So there's plenty of time for Irving and his Celtics team to turn their season around. The Celtics currently own a record of 9-6 and sit fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Despite their early struggles, the Celtics have plenty of time to get back to the top of the East where everyone expects to be at the end of the season.
WHAT THIS MEANS
With last night's victory, the Celtics put everyone on notice that they're still one of the best teams in the East. All they needed was some time to create chemistry with their roster.
People always forget that Hayward missed all of last season with that horrific leg injury. So, he will likely need half the season to get back into the form he was in before he sustained his injury.
Just give this team a little more time to create even more chemistry, before you fully judge them.
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