In case y’all forgot, Playoff Kyrie Irving really is that unstoppable

Kyrie Irving finished the Celtics’ Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers with 37 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. He shot 15-of-26 from the field and 6-of-10 from downtown.

He danced around defenders and screens alike. He frustrated the competition with step-backs, fadeaways, pull-up threes and fantastic rim finishes. He hit shots no one else on the planet could hit. In the end, he willed his Celtics team to a 99-91 win and a 2-0 series lead over the Pacers.

In short: He was Playoff Kyrie Irving. We’re glad to have him back.

This was the player the Celtics didn’t have last year, when they made their miraculous Eastern Conference Finals run that fell one game shy of an NBA Finals appearance. That team didn’t have a go-to scorer in spurts, instead relying on Brad Stevens’ play-calling, ball- and body-movement, the collective talent of their young players, plus Al Horford’s two-way genius.

But Irving is back, reminding us why he’s the assassin who nailed the most iconic shot of our generation to deliver Cleveland its only NBA championship in 2016. This is the player who’s healthy after all the drama he’s dealt with (and caused) this season.

Playoff Kyrie Irving is back, and damn he looks good.

Indiana is a good defensive team. Without Victor Oladipo, they’ve had no choice but to be. The Pacers had the third-best defensive rating in the NBA only behind Milwaukee and Utah this season, holding teams to just 105.9 points per 100 possessions. Even in this series, they’ve kept the Celtics from scoring 100 points in a game so far.

But the telltale sign of an elite offensive player is bending a good defense to his will. James Harden has done it against Utah in his first-round series, and Irving has done it to the Pacers, too. His bag of tricks is too deep.

Irving has always elevated his game in the playoffs. Shaquille O’Neal said on TNT’s Inside the NBA that great players have to average three or four more points in the playoffs than they do in the regular season. During Cleveland’s 2016 championship run, Irving averaged 19.6 points in the regular season, then absolutely torched teams in the playoffs to the tune of 25.2 points on borderline 50-40-90 club efficiency numbers.

Through two games against Indiana, he’s averaging 28.5 points a contest. Irving is everything the Celtics need — so long as the rest of the team can keep up.

So yes, Irving will become a free agent on July 1, and no, there’s no a single clue as to what he’ll do this summer. He can go to New York and become a Knicks great, re-join LeBron James in Los Angeles, spurn James and head to the Clippers, or join any other team his heart desires, so long as they’re armed with max cap space and a decent supporting cast. But right now, his main objective is guiding this Boston Celtics team to an NBA Finals, and he is enjoying it.

“Finally getting the chance to lace them up for the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs, there’s nothing like it,” Irving said after the game.

Playoff Kyrie Irving is back, and there is little that can be done to stop him.