NBA on Jan. 16: Irving delivers career-high 18 assists

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In one of the key games on Wednesday of the 2018-19 NBA regular season, the Boston Celtics at home defeated the Toronto Raptors 117-108, putting an end to the latter's five straight wins. Meanwhile, in a three-point contest at the Toyota Center, the Brooklyn Nets came back from trailing twice before they claimed victory against the Houston Rockets 145-142.

Kyrie Irving plays as a leader

Boston's Kyrie Irving celebrates during a 117-108 win against the Toronto Raptors on January 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

With a team-high 27 points and 18 assists, Kyrie Irving made the biggest contributions to Boston's win at TD Garden on Wednesday. Al Horford scored 24 points, shooting 75 percent from both the field goal (9/12) and behind the three-point line (3/4). Gordon Hayward, after struggling for three games, came off the bench to score 18 points.

Kawhi Leonard led Toronto in scoring with 33 points. Serge Ibaka contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds while Danny Green and Kyle Lowry scored 15 points and 10 points, respectively. Norman Powell and Greg Monroe both scored 11 points off the bench.

Pascal Siakam (#43) and Kyle Lowry (#7) of the Toronto Raptors give each other a high five after scoring against the Celtics on January 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

The Celtics in the first quarter committed five turnovers resulting in 10 points for Toronto. Moreover, as head coach Brad Stevens put three guards under 2 meters tall on the court with Al Horford in the last few minutes, Toronto capitalized on their height advantage to continue racking up points.

However, Toronto did not play a perfect game either. Their lower-than-average three-point shooting in the first quarter (2/6) deteriorated in the second quarter as the team missed all nine three-pointers. Meanwhile, as Boston improved their defense in transition by slowing down the ball-handlers first, the Raptors got nothing in early offense this quarter and watched the Celtics gain a lead of 11 points (64-53) after the first half.

Gordon Hayward (#20) of the Celtics drives to the rim against the Raptors on January 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

The game fell into a seesaw battle in the second half before each team's franchise player took over. That's where the Celtics held an advantage: Irving had help while Leonard had to do it on his own. Both Irving and Leonard scored 10 points in the fourth quarter but Irving also delivered five assists in the last four minutes when the game was on the line.

Another typical 'Rockets' loss

Jarrett Allen (#31) of the Nets blocks a dunk by James Harden (#13) of the Houston Rockets during Brooklyn's 145-142 win on January 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

James Harden continued his incredible run of performances as he dropped 58 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Houston. P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon both scored 20 points and Tucker took 10 rebounds. Gerald Green from the bench put down 15 points, all three-pointers (5/15).

Brooklyn continued their "everyone could score" style as they had seven players scoring double digits. Off the bench, Spencer Dinwiddie dropped a team-high 33 points and 10 rebounds while DeMarre Carroll scored 22 points. Treveon Graham led the first team with 21 points. Jarret Allen dominated the paint with 20 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks.

James Harden of the Houston Rockets shoots against a Brooklyn defender on January 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

Brooklyn and Houston combined for 106 three-point attempts on Wednesday, 70 of which belonged to Houston – both numbers are NBA records. Though the Rockets led in the number of shots made (23-16), their shooting percentage was less than "OK" (32.86–44.44 percent). This was also Houston's problem: their over-reliance on and obsession with three-pointers could easily hurt the team.

Defense becomes easier when offenses are predictable. Without Clint Capela, the Rockets had no one to challenge Brooklyn's restricted area and thus it was almost common sense that shooting three-pointers was all Houston had left. Though both Tucker and Gordon shot 50 percent from beyond the arc, they were not lethal enough and definitely not the most important defensive targets for the Nets.

Spencer Dinwiddie (#8) of the Nets makes a key "2+1" play in the game against the Rockets on January 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

Harden was the White Whale and he played as the opponent had expected. His 58 points seemed intimidating but only 15 of them came from three-pointers, while it took Harden 19 shots to accomplish that. Making 21 of 23 free throws was outstanding but getting fouls was more exhausting. Furthermore, limiting Harden's assists to six was not the biggest success for Brooklyn because the team managed to make Harden score all his points via no assists from his teammates. Under the Nets' defense, Harden was almost literally playing by himself.

Brooklyn played smart on offense, too, as they scored 74 points in the paint, 30 more than Houston's 44. They also led in second-chance point (23-14). In addition to rational play, the Nets also had their hero to go to. Dinwiddie first made three consecutive three-pointers in 18 seconds at the end of the fourth quarter to tie the score 131-131. Then in overtime, he dropped seven points and two assists which led to 12 of Brooklyn's 14 points in OT to regain the lead (143-142). As Joe Harris made the last two free throws and Green missed the last three-pointer, Brooklyn waved goodbye to their five-straight-loss record to Houston.

Other games on Wednesday: (away teams come first)

Orlando Magic 115-120 Detroit Pistons

Milwaukee Bucks 111-101 Memphis Grizzlies

San Antonio Spurs 105-101 Dallas Mavericks

Cleveland Cavaliers 112-129 Portland Trail Blazers

New Orleans Pelicans 140-147 Golden State Warriors

Utah Jazz 129-109 Los Angeles Clippers