Boston Celtics 5th quarter: Kyrie Irving’s killer crossover baffles Bucks

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 20: Kyrie Irving
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 20: Kyrie Irving /
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The Boston Celtics avenged their home opener loss to the Milwaukee Bucks with a 96-89 victory Thursday night behind Kyrie Irving and Al Horford. 

Isaiah Thomas who?  On Thursday night, Kyrie Irving displayed a bit of his own fourth quarter magic in leading the Boston Celtics to their third consecutive victory in the young NBA season.

With youngsters Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown taking most of the spotlight coming into the game, the veteran stars really turned it up in the 96-89 victory over Giannis Antetkounmpo and the Bucks.

Irving got things started in the first half, scoring 16 of his 24 points.  In the second half, the man known as Dr. Drew served more as a facilitator finding creative ways to find a red hot Al Horford on different parts of the floor.

Horford, who scored a team high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the three-point stripe, really benefitted from the dribbling skills of Irving and the attention he draws with the ball in his hand.  Just take a look at the play below that really signified the type of chemistry these two veteran stars are forming.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/923729788149420032

That was just one of the plays created off the dribbling of Kyrie Irving.  There was a play in the first half that just about broke social media as well as the ankles of Milwaukee Bucks defenders.

Overall, Irving displayed the type of leadership, ball handling ability and clutch fourth quarter shooting that got Celtics fans excited when the blockbuster trade with Cleveland was made prior to the season.

What was said after the game

Before delivering his season-high 24 points Thursday night at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Kyrie Irving was a little weary about playing on the Bucks’ throwback court for “Return to the MECCA” night.  While the court wasn’t the actual Mecca court the team played on from 1968 to 1988, Irving brought up some safety concerns.

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Obviously, the four-time NBA All Star played just fine on what he believed was the old floor and talked about how big of a deal was made out of his comments following the 96-89 win.

"“I know I had some thought about the floor before the game that I guess was turned into a big deal,” Irving said, via ESPN.  “So it was good to see their new home floor – is that their new home floor?  The Mecca.”"

When told about the one-time event commemorating Milwaukee’s NBA history, Irving said he was glad to be a part of a historic night.

Sometimes its hard to tell if he just says things to toy with the media. I guess, as long as he keeps breaking ankles with his crossover moves, he can think or believe anything he wants. 

Next: Boston Celtics: 3 greatest games of Paul Pierce’s career in green

Next up, the Miami Heat

The Boston Celtics travel to South Beach to take on old friend Kelly Olynyk and the Miami Heat Saturday night.  The team will look to increase their winning streak to four consecutive games.