BOSTON -- After opening the new calendar year with two of his quietest offensive outputs since joining the Boston Celtics, Kyrie Irving reflected Friday night on his maturation as a player and said he now values team success over living up to the individual expectations that were placed on him after being dealt to Boston.
Irving scored 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting in Wednesday's win over his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, but earned high praise from coach Brad Stevens for the way he deferred to his teammates. Irving scored 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting in Friday's victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, but flirted with what would have been only his second career triple-double while finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists.