Basketball: Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving dominates Toronto Raptors before dropping staggering LeBron James confession

Former teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Photo / Getty

Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving dominated the final six minutes against the Toronto Raptors to snatch the win before dropping a bombshell LeBron James confession.

Irving hit his stride at just the right moment in his 27 point, 18 assist performance. The 18 assists represented a new career high for the 26-year-old.

He was involved in 24 of the last 25 points for the Celtics, scoring 10 points and laying off six assists for another 14 points as the Celtics ran away 117-108 winners over Toronto.

But Irving made just as many headlines after the clash when he opened up on his relationship with James. The two were superstars together at Cleveland but Irving demanded to be traded away from the Cavaliers in 2017, no longer willing to share the floor — and the spotlight — with The King. So desperate was Irving to move he threatened to undergo knee surgery and sit out the 2017/18 season if the franchise rejected his request.

His angst towards James ran deep — Irving reportedly didn't want James to return to Cleveland from Miami in 2014 after he left the Cavs for a championship-winning stint with the Heat. Irving had stepped up in James's absence and didn't want to be back playing second fiddle.

But being top dog isn't as easy as it looks — a realisation Irving has come to as he's matured, which resulted in him calling James after a loss to Orlando on the weekend to apologise for being a hot-head at the Cavs.

"I'll tell you one thing, and obviously this is something that was a big deal for me because I had to call Bron and tell him, like, I apologise for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips," Irving told reporters after the win over Toronto.

"I wanted everything to be at my threshold, I wanted to be the guy to lead us to championships, I wanted to be the leader.

"I wanted to be all that and the responsibility of being the best player in the world and leading the team is not meant for many people.

"Bron was one of those guys that came to Cleveland and really tried to show us what it was like to win a championship, and it was hard for him, and sometimes getting the most out of the group is not the easiest thing in the world."

Irving scored a layup with 5:55 remaining in the fourth quarter against the Raptors to lock the score at 94-all to start the run.

The win snapped the Celtics' three-game losing streak and the Raptors' five game winning run.

Irving's exploits were also the first time since December 18, 2009 an NBA player has scored 27 points or more with 18 or more assists. He's also the first Celtics player in just under 25 years to reach the feat.

It comes after a frustrated Irving blew up about his side after its 105-103 loss to the Magic on Saturday

"The young guys don't know what it takes to be a championship level team, what it takes every day," he said at the time. "And if they think it is hard now, what do they think it will be like when we're trying to get to the Finals?"

After today's game, Irving was more circumspect.

"We've just got to be more consistent," Irving said in a postgame interview. "Once we do that, we'll run over everybody in this league, I guarantee it."