The guard scores 34 points in 35 minutes as the Celtics defeat the Charlotte Hornets, recording a season-high point total in a 134-106 win.
BOSTON – The slump that the Celtics were in prior to their February vacation left Kyrie Irving in a sour mood two weeks ago.
He was anything but upbeat while preparing for a cross-country trip to play in the All-Star Game after losing nine of 15 games.
“Going into All-Star break,’’ said Irving back then, “I’m thinking about what we’re doing after and where we are mentally.
“I know what’s coming and I have to communicate that with our guys.’’
In four games since they returned from an eight-day break, the Celtics have looked like a refreshed team, and it has been Irving providing the leadership to make that happen.
They have gone 4-0 – with all the wins against sub-.500 teams – and Irving has averaged 27 points on 58 percent shooting (54 percent from 3-point range) with six rebounds and six assists.
He has set the tone to help get the Celtics out of their funk, the latest example coming Wednesday night in a 134-106 rout of the Charlotte Hornets at the TD Garden.
The Celtics set season highs for points and field-goal percentage (62.1, the highest since April 3, 2011), and Irving had 34 points in 25 minutes to go with five assists, five rebounds and just one turnover.
“He’s very locked in,’’ said coach Brad Stevens, his team now 44-19 with a three-game road trip ahead. “I thought he went into the break hurting a little bit for how we played.
“I thought he hopefully had time to relax and get away for a minute. But clearly when we came back on Wednesday (to practice), we were ready to go and he was as locked in as anybody.’’
The Celtics have averaged 118.5 points in the four wins, and they scored at least 30 points in all four quarters against the Hornets, who had a five-game winning streak stopped.
Irving had 24 points by halftime and 10 more in the third quarter before calling it a night. Six other Celtics scored in double figures.
“Whether it (was) us being tired or just heading into the All-Star break just going through the woes of the season, coming out of it I think for the first few games we’ve done a great job of responding and we just want to keep it up because the season doesn’t end tomorrow,’’ said Irving.
The way that Irving is playing has helped get the Celtics headed back in the right direction.
“Just playing with an aggressive mind set like I’ve been doing, but probably more of an emphasis on it from my end and when I’m being aggressive it just creates more opportunities for my teammates,’’ said Irving, who made 13-of-18 shots.
Four reserves – Marcus Morris (15), Greg Monroe and Terry Rozier (14) and Marcus Smart (10) – were in double figures along with Jaylen Brown (15) and Aron Baynes (12 plus 10 rebounds).
“That was just one of those nights where you had great, great shot making. Sometimes it is as much as if the ball’s going in the basket or not,’’ said Stevens. “You better win when you shoot like that because you don’t have nights like that all the time.’’
Next up is a trip to Houston to face the Rockets, who were 47-13 prior to Wednesday night.
After getting off to a perfect start following the break, the Celtics will be tested on national television Saturday night, but so far, the early returns have been good.
“Our first practice out of break was hard, long and real and you could kind of tell our guys had a good focus about them,’’ said Stevens.
Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.