Irving stars as Celtics bounce back

Kyrie Irving scored 36 points as the Boston Celtics bounced back to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

Boston, beaten by Detroit in their last outing on Monday, held off a determined Sixers fightback in the third period to complete a 108-97 win.

The victory at the TD Garden saw Boston improve to 19-4 to tighten their grip at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Irving led the scoring and also contributed four rebounds and three assists, one of four Boston players to make double figures.

Al Horford weighed in with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Marcus Morris came off the bench to contribute 17 points. Jayson Tatum added 15 points.

Irving and Morris compiled a 17-7 run in the fourth quarter that eventually decided the game, giving Boston their ninth win from their last 10 home games.

The Sixers meanwhile fell to 12-9 after the defeat, with Croatian power forward Dario Saric leading their scoring with 18 points.

In-form Sixers big man Joel Embiid — who has averaged nearly 23 points per game this season — was sat for the game.

Ben Simmons, meanwhile, was kept quiet, with the Celtics defense restricting the Australian star to 15 points.

Simmons also committed five turnovers as the relentless Celtics defense turned the screw on the Sixers star.

J.J. Redick had 17 points while Robert Covington (11), Jerryd Bayless (10), and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (11) also cracked double digits. — Agence France-Presse