Kyrie Irving: 'Nothing Like' Playing for Celtics in Playoffs; 'Felt Good'

Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving dropped 37 points, seven assists and six rebounds in a 99-91 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday.

Irving was naturally pleased after the game and offered the following quotes to reporters.

"It was pretty peaceful," Irving said, per Jay King of The Athletic.

"It felt good to be here in this position, playing in this arena. It's just been a long journey having those two knee surgeries and watching the team last year. And finally getting a chance to lace 'em up for the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs, there's nothing like it."

Irving, who is in his second year with Boston, sat the team's entire 2018 Eastern Conference Finals run after undergoing two left knee procedures.

The point guard made the postseason three times from 2015 to 2017 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning the 2016 NBA Finals.

The playoffs are a welcome sight for Irving and his teammates after a trying regular season that saw the preseason Eastern Conference favorite Celtics finish a disappointing fourth in the standings.

Irving was notably frustrated during Boston's inconsistent campaign that saw the team lose home games to the 17-win New York Knicks and 19-win Phoenix Suns but beat the 51-31 Philadelphia 76ers three times and crush the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors 128-95 on the road.

Irving was notably looking forward to the playoffs in late February:

He also called out his teammates after a 105-103 loss the Orlando Magic in January:

Everything that happened in the regular season could be a moot point, however, especially if Irving's playoff prognostication rings true:

If Irving keeps playing like he did against Indiana on Wednesday, that's a definite possibility. It also helps that the team is a solid 8-2 in its last 10 games (including playoffs).

Boston will visit Indiana for Game 3 of its series on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The C's have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven contest.