BOSTON — Two-point game. Less than 30 seconds to play. Low shot clock. And, per usual, Kyrie Irving didn’t look rushed in the least.
Celtics players spaced the floor after Irving took a pass a couple steps in front of the center court logo. Even with just seven seconds on the shot clock, Irving took a moment to study the defense then, in a flash, he got defender Terrance Ferguson leaning with an up-fake and exploded past the second-year guard. Entering the paint, Irving encountered Steven Adams and Russell Westbrook rushing with help defense and, still with no panic, lifted a left-handed floater over them that rattled home.
Irving just has a way of making pressure-packed moments look so easy. He calls it winning time and it’s an amazing luxury that the Celtics can throw him the ball in big spots and ask him to make something happen.
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Inside the Thunder locker room after the game, Ferguson was asked about the challenges of defending Irving in a spot like that.
“He is one of the best so he don’t really come across many challenges for himself,” shrugged Ferguson.
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Irving finished with 30 points on an absurdly efficient 14 of 19 shooting overall. He missed only one of the 14 shots he attempted inside the arc on Sunday afternoon and added 11 assists as the Celtics posted a 134-129 triumph at TD Garden.
"That’s winning time so I feel like, when the ball is in my hands, just trying to make the right play,” said Irving. "Down the stretch, just trying to make the right decisions.”
It wasn’t the only big play Irving had in a key spot on Sunday. The Thunder actually had a chance to tie or pull ahead as Westbrook charged past center court with about 13 seconds to play. Irving elected to gamble, jumping out at Westbrook as he got inside the 3-point arc, and it was enough to force Oklahoma City’s star guard to fumble the ball. Al Horford recovered for Boston and the Celtics were able to salt away the win.
"Kyrie was great because he kinda got in his way a little bit -- in Westbrook’s way -- and he might have even tipped it,” said Horford. "I was able to just come up with the ball. That was a big stop for us.”
Irving, who was noticeably brief in his responses after Sunday’s game, didn’t elaborate much when asked about turning Westbrook over. His single-word response?
“Instincts,” said Irving.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was more eager to elaborate, noting how Irving has a knack for putting himself in the right spots. Irving has repeatedly stressed his desire to be a more impactful defender and he often creates positive plays by simply being in the right spots to disrupt or gather steals.
But on a night the Celtics shuffled into a tie for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference, Boston finally starting to make a move up the standings after winning nine of their last 10, the big takeaway was just how much of a luxury it must be to have a player like Irving who can make so much happen.
Especially during crunch time.
For the season, the Celtics own an offensive rating of 135.3 when Irving is on the court during crunch time. That’s an absurd number, maybe more so when you consider that Boston’s net rating is plus-36.3 in that span when balanced with a 99 defensive rating.
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Among all NBA players with at least 10 crunch-time appearances, Irving’s offensive rating is easily the best in the league. Three of his teammates — Marcus Morris, Gordon Hayward, and Jayson Tatum — are his closest competition. Victor Oladipo and Iman Shumpert are the only other players in the league with an offensive rating north of 130.
Irving is fifth in the NBA averaging 4.6 points per game in crunch time, or games within five points in the final five minutes. Kemba Walker is first at 5.4. Irving is shooting 52.4 percent overall in those situations.
He’s not perfect. He fumbled away a couple key possessions late in Boston’s only recent loss to Golden State. But that was only all the more jarring because Irving is typically so good in those moments.
Going against on the other elite guards in the NBA on Sunday, Irving relished the big stage. He came up big during winning time yet again and kept Boston’s momentum rolling.
And, just like in those final moments, he looked pretty unruffled by what he had done.
“It’s another regular-season game in the books,” said Irving. "You take what you can learn from that. But it was a great competition out there for a Sunday game.”
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