Kyrie Irving and the Celtics nearly climbed back to win the opening night contest against LeBron James and the Cavs following the devastating first quarter injury to Gordon Hayward. The Celtics had a clear Cavs hangover in their second game of the season on a back-to-back, a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
But since that home L to Milwaukee, the Celtics have rattled off five consecutive wins and now sit tied for first in the Eastern Conference at 5-2 with the Magic and Pistons, of all teams. LeBron’s Cavaliers are one of the NBA’s biggest disappointments through two weeks as they sit at 3-4. They’ve lost three straight games against teams penciled in to be lottery fodder this year – the Nets, Pelicans and Knicks.
The Celtics, meanwhile, have looked like the best team in the NBA for the past week, having won at Philly, at home against the Knicks, at Milwaukee, at Miami and at home Monday night against the Spurs. The 108-94 victory over San Antonio was the Celtics’ best win yet as Kyrie Irving looked like a legit MVP candidate, scoring 24 points and dishing out six assists while running Brad Stevens’ offense flawlessly.
The Celtics are back at it Wednesday night at TD Garden where they’ll face the Kings (7:30 p.m., NBCSB) and then will face the new-look Thunder in OKC Friday (9:30 p.m., NBCSB).
