Kyrie Irving is back. After rejoining the Nets training a few days ago, the point guard made his debut this season when his team visited Indiana, where they added another victory by winning 121-129. The former Celtics played a total of 32 minutes, in which he had plenty of time to, with the ups and downs of someone who has been on the sidelines for so long, show flashes of his undoubted quality.
It was at the beginning of shock that Kyrie presented more problems. Throughout the first quarter, he made several losses and was not able to score any shots, but the passing of the minutes was doing his basketball well and his virtues began to emerge. With the arrival of the second quarter, the baskets began to fall for the point guard, who even managed to appear in the final stretch and score several important points in the last minutes.
Irving finished like this with 22 points in his locker, to which he added 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals that helped his presence on the court to settle with +16 for his team. The next match that can be played will take place next Monday in Portland, in one of the postponed duels that have been rescheduled. In it, you will be able to continue acquiring filming to be able to display your best version in the immediate future.
Durant takes over the game
Despite having their Big 3 for the first time this season, the victory was by no means easy for the Nets, who spent much of the game behind on the scoreboard. The great exit of Carlisle’s men put them in front from very early, something they achieved at the hands of a record-breaking Lance Stephenson. The guard returned to play at home in Indiana for the first time since 2018, something that seemed to suit his basketball well, since in his first 6 minutes on the floor he managed to score 20 points, becoming the Pacers player who has scored the most in a first quarter in the entire history of the franchise.
However, the great moment of the locals was far from limited to the first quarter, as the Indianapolis team came to command by up to 19 points in the third. The Nets, however, woke up in time to prevent this advantage from being final, and with a more aggressive defense that allowed them to close their rim and start scoring in transition, they managed to finish the game with a 20-35 run in the fourth quarter. that earned them victory.
Kevin Durant, with 39 points and 62.5% shooting accuracy, was largely responsible for sustaining his offense in bad times and making it shine in the best, emerging in the final stretch with several baskets and decisive actions . The forward, who also captured 8 rebounds and distributed 7 assists, was once again the best of the New Yorkers with a necessary display on a night in which other men did not stand out so much. James Harden, with 18 goals, was the third in scoring behind KD and Irving, making the Big 3 completely lead Nash’s in their first game together.
In the Pacers, Domantas Sabonis took over from Stephenson, who faded after his brilliant start, with a triple-double of 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Lithuanian, who was a nightmare for Brooklyn’s inside defense, scored 10 of the 14 shots he attempted and managed to force 13 trips from the personnel line, from where he was also enormously effective (11/13). However, neither his great performance nor Stephenson’s 30 goals were enough to lead a casualty-plagued Pacers to victory, who nonetheless put up a lot of fight on a night when many spotlights were on their pavilion.
(Cover photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)