NEW YORK (AFP, REUTERS) - Kyrie Irving scored 40 points as the red-hot Brooklyn Nets picked up where they left off before the NBA All-Star break by beating the Boston Celtics 121-109 on Thursday (March 11) in New York.

With Kevin Durant sitting out his 10th straight game with an injury and James Harden struggling early with turnovers, Irving seized control in the second quarter in front of a pandemic-limited crowd of 1,300 at Barclays Centre.

Former Celtic Irving has made a point this season of raising his level of play against his former team. Irving, who was born in Melbourne, also exploded for 37 points against Boston on Christmas Day.

"We are a resilient team," said Irving. "It is a collective effort. We got to have each other's backs on defence. When you get stops and then you take the ball up the floor in transition, there is nothing better.

"We have lots of offensive talent but we have to stay committed on defence."

The Nets kicked off the first full day of National Basketball Association games in the second half of the season by scoring at least 120 points for the 23rd time this season. They also scored 120 points in their final game before the break.

Harden flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Landry Shamet scored 18 points and had nine three-pointers for the Nets, who made a total of 19 threes. Newly acquired Blake Griffin did not play.

It was the 24th time the Nets, who are second in the Eastern Conference with a 25-13 record, have made at least 15 threes in a game.

"We have a multitude of guys who can take us home and we trust in them," Shamet said. "It's just a matter of us putting an entire game together and putting us in the best position possible."

Harden made all nine of his shots from the free-throw line, but finished with seven turnovers.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, guard Marcus Smith delivered 19 and Germany's Daniel Theis finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Boston (19-18), who are fourth in the East and had their four-game winning streak stopped.

"That's a really good team," Tatum said. "A couple of us didn't shoot it well so obviously there's some things we could do better."

Giannis shines

Elsewhere, All-Star Game MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to power the Milwaukee Bucks to a 134-101 rout of the New York Knicks in Milwaukee.

The Greek made eight of 12 shots from the field and went seven of seven from the free-throw line.

In Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 45 points as the Los Angeles Clippers clobbered the Golden State Warriors 130-104 in the first game for both teams since the All-Star break.

Leonard shot 10-of-17 from the floor for 28 points and George tallied 17 points for the Clippers who ended a three-game losing streak with the blowout win. Serge Ibaka added 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre each scored 15 points and Stephen Curry added 14 as the Warriors (19-19) looked sluggish in losing for the fourth straight time. Curry shot six-of-16 from the floor and made just one of nine attempts from three-point range.

Los Angeles (25-14) led by 16 points at half-time, then busted the game open early in the second half by going on a 13-3 scoring run.

The Clippers outscored the Warriors 45-25 in the third quarter to take a commanding 104-68 lead into the fourth.

Meanwhile, Devin Booker had 35 points and Chris Paul added 19 as the Phoenix Suns rallied for a 127-121 victory over the hosts Portland Trail Blazers, opening the season's second half by extending their winning streak to five games.

Mikal Bridges had 18 points while Jae Crowder and Cameron Payne added 13 points each as the Suns first erased a 13-point deficit in the second quarter, then overcame multiple 11-point deficits in the third.

Forced to miss Sunday's All-Star Game in Atlanta because of a left knee sprain, Booker looked fit on Thursday, going 12 of 21 from the field and 3 of 5 from three-point range. All-Star Damian Lillard had 30 points for the Trail Blazers (21-15) while Enes Kanter had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Suns (25-11) improved to 13-5 away from home, matching the Los Angeles Lakers for best road record in the NBA.

In another game, Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Dwight Howard notched 18 points and 12 rebounds as Philadelphia earned their third straight victory, thumping hosts Chicago 127-105 in both teams' first game after the All-Star break.

The East leaders shone without All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, who remain out due to issues related to Covid-19 contact tracing.

Seven players finished in double figures for Philadelphia (25-12), who led by seven points at halftime and swelled the advantage to as many as 26 in the second half.