Irving sparks Celtics to win over Knicks at MSG

Kyrie Irving never shies away from playing under the bright lights of New York City.

Irving put on another brilliant show for the fans in basketball's Mecca with 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to lead the Boston Celtics past the New York Knicks 121-112 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

The first-year Celtic has made lasting memories at the world-famous venue, including his then-career-high 41-point performance against the Knicks while wearing a protective face mask with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012.

"We just had to be ready for everything that they were throwing at us," Irving told NBC Sports Boston after the game. "We just had to stay poised."

Jaylen Brown added 24 points, Terry Rozier scored 14 off the bench and Al Horford had 13 points and 10 boards for the Celtics, who won their second straight game out of the All-Star break following a three-game losing streak.

Trey Burke totaled 26 points and eight assists to lead New York. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17 points, Michael Beasley had 15, Troy Williams 14 and Emmanuel Mudiay 13 as the Knicks couldn't build off Thursday's 120-113 win at Orlando that snapped a season-high eight-game skid.

The Celtics won their season series with the Knicks, 3-1.

After 15 points from Irving in the third quarter, Boston entered the fourth with an 88-81 lead. A 13-6 New York run capped by Burke's pull-up jumper with 7:43 remaining trimmed the deficit to 96-94.

I

rving answered with a 3-pointer with 7:08 to play, sparking a 10-2 run that ended with Horford's 3-pointer at 5:24 to effectively put the game away.

Boston led 59-56 at halftime.

Daniel Theis was inserted into the Celtics' starting lineup in place of injured center Aron Baynes. Theis, who scored a career-high 19 points in Friday night's 120-113 win at Detroit, finished with six points and seven rebounds.

Baynes did not play after exiting Friday's game in the first quarter with a left elbow sprain. Boston's Shane Larkin returned after missing the last 10 games with a knee ailment, going scoreless in five minutes.

Boston returns home to face Memphis on Monday. New York hosts defending champion Golden State on Monday.

--Field Level Media