Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving’s candidacy for NBA MVP was bolstered during Thursday night’s ugly offensive performance by the C’s in an 89-80 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.
Without Irving, who sat out because of a shoulder injury, the C’s shot just 41.1 percent from the floor, hit only seven of 29 3-point shots, generated 13 points in the second quarter and scored a season-low 53 points through three quarters.
In addition to poor shooting, the C’s also were sloppy with the basketball. They committed 19 turnovers and had just 13 assists on 30 made shots.
Irving is the team’s leading scorer with 23.6 points per game,…