NEW YORK – Before the Brooklyn Nets’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors, the coach Steve Kerr, sat down to watch a video of his former player, Kevin Durant. He kicked off Brooklyn’s preseason game against the Boston Celtics and attended Durant’s first competitive games since rupturing his Achilles tendon in June 2019.
“He didn’t know what to expect given it’s actually been a year and a half since his last game,” Kerr said. “But I couldn’t tell the difference between seeing him 18 months ago and seeing him the other night.”
Durant has steered clear of issuing sweeping edicts, but on Tuesday, Kerr got a front row seat to Durant’s dominance as he added 22 points in a 125-99 win against his former team.
And this time, it wasn’t a preseason warm-up.
Durant jumped on long-range jump shots on Andrew Wiggins, rose to land one-handed punches, passed the ball through defenders to find DeAndre Jordan at the rim and splashed in three. While he did not have a minute restriction, the head coach Steve Nash He said before the game that he would “watch out” for Durant’s playing time. He ended up on the ground for 25 minutes.
Along with his touchdown, Durant added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. He shot 7 of 16 from the field goal and never missed from the free throw line.
With Durant and Kyrie Irving at the helm, Brooklyn quickly gained momentum. The Nets jumped to an early 18-18 lead early in the first quarter after Kevin Durant shot to the basket and delivered a commanding dunk. He racked up a quick ten points in the first quarter, while Irving, who hasn’t played competitive basketball since February after injuring his shoulder, led the team with 17 starting points.
Irving, who hit almost unbelievably deep 3s and displayed his striking and distinctive ball handling, finished with 26 points in 25 minutes of play. Neither Durant nor Irving played in the fourth quarter.
As Durant made his way to the bench at the end of the third quarter, his entire night, he high-fived all the teammates and coaches, moving from the front row of folding chairs to his seat in the row of seats, smiling. He glanced at the scoreboard, as if he was scoring the numbers behind his comeback displayed on the jumbotron, and pulled his gray warm-up jersey over his head.
With Irving by their side, the star duo watched as their teammates increased Brooklyn’s lead. At one point in the quarter, they were up over 30. Durant clapped and handed out high-fives, the next step in his full comeback.
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