NBA on Nov. 16: Fired-up Irving slays Raptors; Butler wins in 76er home debut

World
Europe

Friday night featured eight NBA regular season matchups. The Celtics sealed an onerous win against the visiting Raptors in overtime thanks to Kyrie Irving's season-high 43 points. The Sixers defeated the Jazz as Jimmy Butler's 28 points made him a salient home debut.

Irving nets 43, leads Celtics past Raptors in OT

Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics shoots the ball against the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, US, November 16, 2018. /VCG Photo

Kyrie Irving scored a season-best 43 points, including four in overtime, and added 11 assists as the Boston Celtics came back to defeat the Toronto Raptors 123-116.

The Celtics, who had lost four of their previous six games, handed the Raptors their third straight loss after a 12-1 start. The teams have split their first two games this season. Jayson Tatum added 21 points, Gordon Hayward had 15 and Marcus Morris and Al Horford had 11 each for the Celtics.

Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 31 points and 15 rebounds. Serge Ibaka added 21 points, Pascal Siakam 16, Kyle Lowry 14 while Jonas Valanciunas and Danny Green each had 11 for the Raptors.

The Raptors, who led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, took a four-point edge into the fourth before Irving took over, scoring 19 in the period to help the Celtics take the game into overtime.

Butler hits 28 in home debut as Sixers edge past Jazz

Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz talks to Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers in the third quarter at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, November 16, 2018. /VCG Photo

Jimmy Butler scored 28 points in his home debut to lead Philadelphia past Utah.

Butler was 12 of 15 from the field and the Sixers improved to 8-0 at home this season while extending their home winning streak to 18 dating to last season. Joel Embiid added 23 points, and JJ Redick had 16 and Amir Johnson 11 for the Sixers.

Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 31 points but shot 13-for-35 from the field and 1-for-11 from three-point range. Joe Ingles added 14 while Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio had 13 apiece. Rudy Gobert contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Other games include: (with the home team in Bold)

Indiana Pacers 99 - 91 Miami Heat

Brooklyn Nets 115-104 Washington Wizards

Memphis Grizzlies 112-104 Sacramento Kings

Minnesota Timberwolves 112-96 Portland Trail Blazers

New Orleans Hornets 129-124 New York Nicks

Milwaukee Bucks 123-104 Chicago Bulls

(With input from Reuters)

Source(s): Reuters