Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
NEW YORK (Eagle News) – You can call Kyrie Irving Mr. Third Quarter.
Irving scored 15 of his 31 points in the third as the Celtics dominated with a 121-112 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. It was the final regular season matchup between the two Atlantic Division rivals, where Boston won three out of four against New York.
Irving added nine rebounds and eight assists, including a backwards bounce pass that set up Jaylen Brown for a dunk. The basket wowed the mixed sold out crowd of Celtics and Knicks fans and put the Celtics ahead for good with 1:51 left in the fourth quarter.
“[Kyrie’s] one of the best players in the world,” said Brown, who finished the night with 24 points. “Put him on a platform at Madison Square Garden, [and] you know it’s showtime.”
It was showtime indeed as both teams were neck and neck in the first half with the Celtics leading 59-56 at halftime. The Knicks took a one point lead on a Tim Hardaway Jr. three-point jumper, but Irving’s third-quarter dominance included four three-pointers which gave the Celtics their first double-digit lead with 3:32 left in the quarter.
Troy Williams and Trey Burke helped the Knicks go on a 9-2 run early in the fourth to cut the deficit to a bucket. Celtics coach Brad Stevens then put his starting five back in the lineup and scored 12 points in two minutes to secure Boston with the lead for good.
When asked about playing in front of a “home crowd,” Irving had to clarify that he’s not from New York.
“I’m from New Jersey, let’s get that straight,” said Irving. “But I love New York and I’m from Jersey. Playing in The Mecca is always fun. It has a way of bringing out the best in people. It’s a high matchup; a lot of people come to watch the Knicks play. You just want to play well on a floor like this and get a great team win.”
The win against the Knicks was the Celtics second win in their second night of a back-to-back.
“We probably needed rest, but everybody needed rest,” said Stevens. “We needed to re-center ourselves and focus better and play better. We had moments tonight where we weren’t as good, but we played hard both nights and certainly we can build off that. We’re not in it for two games, we’re in it for the last 23.”
Burke had another stellar performance for the Knicks, scoring 26 points off the bench in 26 minutes. Hardaway Jr. added 17 points, Michael Beasley chipped in 15 points and Williams scored 14 points off the bench in 12 minutes.
Both teams will be in action Monday as the Celtics return home to face the Memphis Grizzlies and the Knicks face another top contending team as the defending champions Golden State Warriors visit Madison Square Garden.