Celtics Journal: Kyrie Irving short with media after loss

BOSTON — His postgame press conference lasted around 90 seconds and consisted of nine questions that were answered with brief responses.

Kyrie Irving was in no mood for interviews after the Celtics fell to 1-5 since the All-Star break with a 115-104 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden.

The Celtics trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and were down by 28 in the third quarter before a fourth-quarter run made things a [...]

BOSTON — His postgame press conference lasted around 90 seconds and consisted of nine questions that were answered with brief responses.

Kyrie Irving was in no mood for interviews after the Celtics fell to 1-5 since the All-Star break with a 115-104 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden.

The Celtics trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half and were down by 28 in the third quarter before a fourth-quarter run made things a bit interesting on a day when they were booed by the home crowd.

Irving had 24 points on 7 for 11 shooting with nine rebounds and six assists, but the Celtics turned in a miserable performance on national television.

The nine questions posed to Irving were answered by a total of 40 words.

“It was tough,’’ he said of the loss.

“Just didn’t play well,’’ he responded to another inquiry.

Asked what was more difficult, the Celtics' poor shooting (8 for 28 on 3-pointers) or the Rockets’ long-range shooting (21 for 51), Irving said, “Probably a little bit of both.’’

Irving was asked if he was encouraged by the fourth-quarter play of the Celtics when they got within eight, and he said, “Didn’t result in a win, so just got to play better.’’

The final question dealt with whether the upcoming four-game West Coast trip could help the Celtics come together, and he said, “We’ll see.’’

Irving has not been as expansive in interviews as he once was in recent weeks ever since backtracking on Feb. 1 about re-signing with the Celtics this summer.

He also has been critical of younger Celtics teammates throughout the season.

Mixing, matching

Marcus Morris was scoreless in 18 minutes, missing all three of his shots, including two 3-pointers.

Morris was taken out of the game midway through the third quarter and did not return.

“It was nothing to do with Marcus per se,’’ coach Brad Stevens said. “It was more to do with, by then, we were down 30 and I wanted to see [Aron] Baynes and Al [Horford] play together a little bit. And I wanted to get [Daniel] Theis a chance to play because his energy can do what it did.’’

Easing back in

After missing 11 games with a left foot ailment, Baynes went 12 minutes off the Celtics’ bench in his first appearance since Feb. 1.

Baynes struggled at times as he got back into the swing of things and had four points and four rebounds.

Stevens said that Baynes will be restricted to 12-15 minutes during the first week of his return.

Smart defender

Stevens said he is hoping that guard Marcus Smart is picked on one of the NBA’s all-defensive teams this season.

“I really hope Marcus finally gets recognized as an all-defensive team member,’’ the coach said. “We thought, ever since he got here, he’s one of the best defenders in the league, or if you took a poll of players around the league, even though they might be annoyed by him at times, they would all say that he is.

“He’s into people, he’s physical, he’s tough, he’s got a motor, he’s got great hands. He should be on that team.’’

Tatum comes of age

Jayson Tatum had 12 points on 5 for 15 shooting on the day that he turned 21 years old. ... With the Celtics at full strength, Guerschon Yabusele was on the inactive list. ... The Celtics are scheduled to practice in Northern California Monday in preparation for Tuesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors.