Comebacks continue to be the theme of the Boston Celtics’ winning streak, which reached 16 games on Monday night. The Dallas Mavericks became the latest casualty of the resurgent Celtics, who rallied from a 13-point (87–74) deficit with 7:47 remaining to force overtime before closing out a 110–102 road victory in the extra session.
As has been the case with the majority of Boston’s 16-game unblemished stretch, Kyrie Irving was the driving force for the Celtics. Irving dropped a season-best 47 points — 10 coming in overtime — on a remarkably efficient 16-of-22 shooting from the floor, connecting on five of his seven treys with six assists.
Kyrie Irving is the first Celtic to score 45+ points and shoot better than 70% from the field since Larry Bird (50 points, 76% FG) did it on 11/10/89 vs. ATL.— Michael Berger (@MichaelSBerger) November 21, 2017
Irving continues to awe in pressure-packed moments. He leads the league with 65 points on 24-of-39 shooting in clutch situations — which the NBA defines as the final five minutes of regulation (or overtime) with the score within five points. He has yet to commit a turnover in the clutch and has notched 10 assists.
Kyrie Irving in final 5 min and score within 5 this season:— Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13) November 21, 2017
- 38 mins
- 65 pts
- 24-39 FG
- 13-16 FT
- 11 drawn fouls
- 32 pts in the paint
- 10 assists
- 0 turnovers
- Plus-minus of +40
Dude is the literal definition of clutch.
Delivering when it matters most, Irving doesn’t sweat having the game on the line.
"It's pretty simple," Irving said after the Celtics beat the lowly Mavs. "I don't really see it as a pressure situation. It's just like playing basketball, man. It's just like being in a park 7-7 and game is 8. Someone else calls win by two and you're calling straight up. That's when the defense just starts to crank up and you see some unbelievable plays.
Celtics fans in attendance at American Airlines serenaded Irving with deafening “MVP” chants as he made the game-sealing free throws to finish off his best performance of the young season.
Spearheaded by Irving, Boston (16–2) is undefeated in the month of November and is three wins shy of tying the franchise record of 19 consecutive wins set in the 2008–09 season.
 |
| Kyrie Irving dominated the Mavericks on Monday night to extend the Celtics’ win streak to 16 games. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images) |
