Celtics impressive as they shoot down Spurs

31st Oct 2017 | Source: kwesesports.com

Kyrie Irving carried the Celtics through nearly all of the first three quarters of Monday’s matchup with San Antonio. He helped Boston build a 13-point lead early on in the second half, but still, he needed some help.

His teammates were there to give it to him.

Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, in particular, were the guys who made a difference during the final minutes of the third quarter. That duo combined to score Boston’s final eight points of the quarter, all while the Spurs managed to score just one of their own.

Brown opened up the run with two free-throws and a 3-pointer, all within a span of just 30 seconds of action. Smart then finished the spurt with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left wing to end the period.

It took only 62 seconds for Brown and Smart to push Boston ahead 80-67 heading into the final period, after they led by only six points prior to the run. Terry Rozier got in on the fun midway through the final quarter by scoring 10 points during a 12-3 Boston run, and the Celtics ran away with the victory from that point on.

Boston led by as many as 19 points during the final quarter and cruised to a 108-94 win.

Key Player

Uncle Drew was cookin’ Monday night, and Celtics Nation was ready to eat.

Kyrie Irving notched his third consecutive 24-point game Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs. He had reached that total less than three minutes into the second half of the game.

Something tells us that Irving could have pushed for 40 points tonight, but thanks to the aforementioned help provided to him by his teammates, the point guard was only needed for 30 minutes of action on the night. He played only two minutes and 16 seconds of the fourth quarter before Brad Stevens removed him and Al Horford from the game for the final time.

Irving wasn’t just a high-level scorer during this game, either; he was great in nearly all aspects. He dished out a game-high six assists compared to just one turnover, he grabbed a game-high three steals, and he also blocked a shot.

This shouldn’t surprise you much after reading all of that: Boston outscored San Antonio by 25 points while Irving was on the floor.

Box Score Nuggets

- Boston led by as many as 19 points.

- The Cs limited the Spurs to just 41.4-percent shooting.

- Kyrie Irving led the game in points (24), assists (six) and steals (four).

- Five Spurs scored in double figures, led by 18 points by Brandon Paul.

- Jaylen Brown broke out of a shooting slump to score 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

- San Antonio shot 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from long range.

- Al Horford logged his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He also notched five assists and two steals.

- Jayson Tatum led the game with three blocked shots. He also grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds.

- Terry Rozier scored 12 points off the bench.

- San Antonio’s starers totaled just 45 points.