Kyrie Irving on Thursday scored 40 points as the red-hot Brooklyn Nets picked up where they left off before the All-Star break by beating the Boston Celtics 121-109 in New York.
With Kevin Durant sitting out his 10th straight game with an injury and James Harden struggling early with turnovers, Irving seized control in the second quarter in front of 1,300 fans at the Barclays Center.
Former Celtic Irving has made a point this season of raising his level of play against Boston. Irving, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, also exploded for 37 points against his former team on Christmas Day last year.
Photo: AP
“We are a resilient team,” Irving said. “It is a collective effort. We got to have each other’s backs on defense. When you get stops and then you take the ball up the floor in transition, there is nothing better. We have lots of offensive talent, but we have to stay committed on defense.”
The Nets began the first full day of NBA games in the second half of the season by scoring at least 120 points for the 23rd time this season.
It was also the second straight time. They also scored 120 points in their final game before the break.
Harden flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Landry Shamet scored 18 points and had nine three-pointers for the Nets, who made a total of 19 three-pointers.
Newly acquired Blake Griffin did not play.
It was the 24th time this season the Nets have made at least 15 three-pointers in a game.
“We have a multitude of guys who can take us home and we trust in them,” Shamet said. “It’s just a matter of us putting an entire game together and putting us in the best position possible.”
Harden made all nine of his shots from the free-throw line, but finished with seven turnovers.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and guard Marcus Smith delivered 19, while Germany’s Daniel Theis finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Boston, who had their four-game winning streak stopped.
“That’s a really good team,” Tatum said. “A couple of us didn’t shoot it well, so obviously there’s some things we could do better.”
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to power the Bucks to a 134-101 rout of the New York Knicks.
Antetokounmpo made eight of 12 shots from the field and went seven of seven from the free-throw line.
In Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 45 points as the Clippers crushed the Golden State Warriors 130-104 in the first game for both teams since the All-Star break.
Leonard shot 10 of 17 from the floor for 28 points, while George tallied 17 points for the Clippers, who ended a three-game losing streak with the blowout win.
Serge Ibaka added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre each scored 15 points, while Stephen Curry added 14 as the Warriors looked sluggish in losing for the fourth straight time.
Curry shot six of 16 from the floor and made just one of nine attempts from three-point range.
Elsewhere, the Phoenix Suns eclipsed the Portland Trail Blazers 127-121, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks 116-108, the Atlanta Hawks downed the Toronto Raptors 121-120 and the Miami Heat were too hot to handle for the Orlando Magic in a 111-103 win.
The Charlotte Hornets stung the Detroit Pistons 105-102, the Philadelphia 76ers crushed the Chicago Bulls 127-105, the Minnesota Timberwolves thrashed the New Orleans Pelicans 135-105 and the Sacramento Kings downed the Houston Rockets 125-105.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB