Key Moment
The start of the third quarter was a sign of things to come Wednesday night at TD Garden. The Celtics scored with ease, and that never changed.
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Boston scored six straight points to open the second half to turn their eight-point halftime lead up to 14 during a span of only 93 seconds. Aron Baynes caned a jump shot, Jaylen Brown threw down a loud transition slam after a steal, and Al Horford tossed in a turnaround hook shot to account for the run.
Charlotte answered the 6-0 run with a dunk from Dwight Howard, but Boston had already begun to roll – and there was no stopping the green and white train after it got started. The C’s run expanded to 13-4, and then to 26-9 as they blew the game open to the tune of a 27-point lead with 4:45 remaining in the third period.
That’s right – an eight-point lead ballooned all the way up to a 27-point lead in only seven-plus minutes of action. Boston’s lead eventually grew to as many as 32 points as it polished off a second consecutive blowout win, this time by a final tally of 134-126.
Key Player
Kyrie Irving turned Hump Day into Buckets Day at TD Garden. He was Kyridiculous.
Irving needed only 24-plus of playing time to notch a game-high 34 points. Yes, you read that correctly: 34 points in only 24 minutes.
Kyridiculous.
Irving was incredibly efficient against Charlotte, as he canned 13 of his 18 field goal attempts. That showing included a 4-for-6 effort from long distance and a 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line.
Somehow, Irving managed to add a whole lot more to the game during his limited action. He also tallied five assists, four rebounds and a steal during the game, all while committing only one turnover.
Want to know what those numbers convert to on a per-36-minutes basis? How does 50 points, 7.4 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals sound?
Yep. That’s pretty Kyridiculus.