Kyrie Irving provided another tantalizing glimpse of what could be, scoring a season-high 38 points to help Brooklyn beat defending NBA champions Milwaukee 126-23.
Irving was only playing his 15th game of the season — the Nets have played 61.
He still can’t play at home because he hasn’t met New York’s vaccine requirements.
But he has been exceptional the times he has spoken, scoring 27 points in each of his last four appearances.
His performance was key as Brooklyn triumphed despite big Bucks games from Bobby Portis (30 points and 12 rebounds) Giannis Antetokounmpo (29 points, 14 rebounds and six assists) and Khris Middleton (25 points).
It helped the Nets snap a two-game skid and win for only the third time in 16 games.
With Irving so often unavailable and Kevin Durant (knee) out since Jan. 15, the Nets (32-29) tumbled to eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
But with Durant nearing a comeback and the arrival of Australian star Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in the trade for James Harden as well as the signing of guard Goran Dragic, there is reason to hope for a solid playoff race.
“We put goals on the board, just a daily reminder of what we’re preparing for, just the things we can control and just focus on those things.”
When Simmons will play his first game of the season remains unclear, with coach Steve Nash revealing he suffered from back pain while preparing for his return to action.
“It’s not like an injury,” Nash said. “It’s a bit like, when he came back to play, his back got a little inflamed. It’s not like a long-term thing.”
In Chicago, Ja Morant scored a career-high 46 points as his Memphis Grizzlies hung on to beat DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls 116-110.
It gave DeRozan 10 straight 30-point streaks, the longest such streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan did it in 10 straight games ending Jan. 14, 1991.
In Atlanta, Trae Young regained his All-Star form by scoring 41 points and Atlanta produced a dominant third quarter to defeat Toronto 127-100.
Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo scored his season-high 36 points to help the Miami Heat beat San Antonio 133-129.
That meant Spurs coach Gregg Popovich remained at 1,334 regular-season wins, one win behind Don Nelson – one of his former bosses – on the NBA’s career list.
–
