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Duke in the NBA: Kyrie Irving dazzles in Celtics loss

By Zach De Jong

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 30: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics dribbles against the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden on October 30, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics defeat the Pistons 108-105. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 30: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics dribbles against the Detroit Pistons at TD Garden on October 30, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics defeat the Pistons 108-105. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Former Duke Basketball player Kyrie Irving dazzled the defense on Monday night, but that wasn’t enough as Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with his career high in points.

Kyrie Irving‘s days as a Duke Blue Devil were limited as he was only able to play in 11 games in his collegiate career.

However, Irving was able to show signs of greatness in his small sample size which proved to be enough for him to be the first pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

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Now with seven years of experience in the NBA he could arguably be one of Duke’s best players in the NBA.

He has earned several accolades like rookie of the year, five time All-Star, and won an NBA championship with LeBron James in Cleveland.

Ever since October 30 versus the Detroit Pistons, Irving has been back to his efficient scoring ability.

Irving struggled finding his shot early in the season as fellow Blue Devil Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics in shot attempts in Irving’s absence. Irving is now back to leading the team in scoring putting on a scoring display nightly. Monday night versus the Denver Nuggets was no different for the young superstar from Duke.

Irving finished the game with 31 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. Irving was able to dazzle on the offensive end of the floor. He finished creatively at the rim and knocked down his jump shots with his sweet shooting stroke. Early in the first quarter, Irving made a Kobe Bryant like fade-away, which impressed many despite the Celtics-Lakers heated rivalry.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1059648073436225536

Sadly, Irving’s scoring display was not enough to get the win versus the Nuggets. This was largely in fact to Jamal Murray scoring a career high 48 points. Murray could not be stopped by the strong Celtic defense. The Nuggets beat the Celtic’s 115-107 on Monday night.

After the game Irving shared his frustrations with Murray. At the end of the game Murray shot a three-pointer as time expired to try and hit 50 points on the night. This rubbed Irving the wrong way as he grabbed the ball and threw it into the crowd. Irving was very vocal after the game about his frustrations.

The Boston Celtics will take the floor once again on Thursday, November 8 versus the Phoenix Suns at 9:00 PM ET.

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