About Last Night: Kyrie's MSG Mania - NBA.com

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving opened up all the cans during Friday's morning shootaround. Worms everywhere. Per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:

“… at the end of the day, I’m going to do what I feel is best for my career,” he said. “And that’s just where it stands.
“My focus this season is winning a championship with the Boston Celtics. Obviously, we had goals coming into this season, and the primary goal is to win a championship. So that’s where my focus is.”
He was then asked whether his plan to re-sign with Boston had shifted.
“Ask me July 1,” he said.

He might as well have lit a firecracker under the free-agency boardwalk. With the trade deadline buzz already at peak vibrato, Irving injected further chaos, and were the fans at Madison Square Garden ever ready by gametime:

🗣 "We want Kyrie" chants took over MSG
(via @JakeKilgore)pic.twitter.com/dvYP3KaO5X
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 2, 2019

Irving heard 'em. (Of course he heard. They all hear. It's the blocking out that makes them pros.)

"At this point, it's nothing but a distraction honestly." Irving said to ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth after a 113-99 Celtics victory. "I appreciate the fans, I appreciate the support, but it's really about our team now and what we want to accomplish this season – and that's a championship, so my focus is stuck on that."

Irving's acknowledgement that the Celtics season hasn't quite come together as expected isn't news, given the back-and-forth with the young bucks a few weeks back. But paired with the renewed focus on his future, it felt more than a little revealing, the tremor that either passes or ends up an earthquake.

Only five months to find out!

Joker's wild

Man, if it weren't for ridiculousness happening on such a regular basis in this high-octane season, we might fully appreciate exactly what we're witnessing through Nikola Jokic's ascendant campaign.

The Nuggets center, recently named to his first All-Star team, put up 31 points (12-15 FGs, 6-6 FTs), 13 rebounds and nine assists to lead a rousing victory over the Houston Rockets. When the big man is posting up this fluidly and then delivering passes like this one:

… what's anyone supposed to do except watch? Lovely.

PG13, unrated

Can we talk about Paul George for a minute? This dude is balling OUT this year. Newest reason to elevate George into your next MVP conversation: These career- and franchise-best 10 3-pointers.

Watch Paul George nail a career-best 10 treys.

George finished with 43 points (14-23 FGs, 10-16 3FGs), seven rebounds, five assists and two steals as Oklahoma City hammered the Miami Heat. He's averaging a nightly 27-8-4 while shooting 45 percent overall, 41 percent on 3s and 83 percent at the line. Good grief.

Also for the Thunder, Russell Westbrook put up his fifth straight triple-double: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists. The record for consecutive triple-doubles is eight by (surprise!) Wilt Chamberlain.

Russ is currently tied with two others for second place on that list with seven straight games, which he's done twice – Nov.-Dec. 2016 and March-April 2017. Can you guess the other players? Probably, but the answer is below either way.

Gobert's game cries for attention

After a much-publicized moment of emotion earlier in the day, Rudy Gobert went out and reminded everyone exactly why this particular All-Star snub has created such controversy.

His final line against the Atlanta Hawks: 25 points (7-7 FGs, 11-15 FTs), 13 rebounds and two blocks, including this textbook rejection of Kevin Huerter:

Trae taking hold

That draft-night trade between the Hawks and Mavericks hasn't quite gotten as far from Atlanta as it seemed during that early #HalleLuka run for the 19-year-old Slovenian sensation.

Hawks rookie Trae Young, who's now ripped off 20-plus in seven of his last nine games is even producing productive clunkers. When he shot 1-for-12 against the Bulls on January 23, Young still dished 12 assists and pulled down seven rebounds in a 20-point victory.

With his current run of 20-point, 8-assist showings, Young has become the first rookie since Damon Stoudemire in 1996 to log four straight. Either way, I'm here for Young-to-Collins: