New York- On Saturday evening, Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving scored a season-high, 38 points in a 126-123 win over the defending NBA champions, Milwaukee Bucks. At the Fiserv Forum, the Nets showed off their offensive capabilities without star Kevin Durant and newly acquired Ben Simmons. The Nets entered the night on a two-game losing skid. This made for a date sketched out on the calendar as a “must win scenario” against Eastern Conference rival Bucks.
31 year old Seth Curry, remains an offensive threat for Brooklyn as he put up 19 points in the affair, 4-8 from behind the arc. Andre Drummond continued his reign on offense for Brooklyn, scoring 17 points and 12 boards on the night.
2021 NBA Finals MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points to add to his 14 assists on the night. Bucks forward, Bobby Portis finished 11-18 from the field with 30 points and 12 boards. Milwaukee is currently the 5th seed in the conference with a 36-25 record.
After missing two weeks, Kyrie Irving had himself a miraculous performance in front of the road crowd. He shot 14-26 from the field along with five assists, adding versatility on all offensive outlooks. To build on his night, Irving made five clutch free throws within the last minute of the 4th quarter for Brooklyn.
Irving spoke postgame on being able to show out: “It’s the collection of guys we have in the locker room. Honestly, they keep me in shape. They keep pushing me. They keep me motivated. It’s not an ideal season for us, but we just gotta keep pushing through all those barriers.” The Nets look to build off this remarkable win.
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Brooklyn must prosper on the offensive end to remain a threat within the Eastern Conference standings. In the Nets, 32 wins this season, the team is shooting 49.5% from the field. In their 29 losses, the Nets clipped a 43.5% field goal percentage as a team. This 6 percent drop is significant when looking into the Nets’ near future in contending against East teams such as the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers.
Veteran point guard Goran Dragic made his Nets debut in Saturday’s contest, adding 6 points off the bench. Recently, as he was a top buyout name on the market, Dragic agreed to a contract deal with the Nets. The Slovenian native, Dragic has ties with Nets head coach, Steve Nash. During Nash’s playing days, he and Dragic were teammates on the Phoenix Suns for three seasons (2008-2011). Dragic has stated in the past how much Nash had influenced his game as a young, developing player.
The Nets announced recently that Kevin Durant is close to making his on-the court return. Durant has been sidelined for the last 18 games due to a left-knee injury sustained back in January. In 36 games played this season, he is shooting 52% from the field and averaging 29.3 points per game.
In regards to the season so far and for what’s to come, Kyrie Irving stated postgame: “Just remaining humble. Just staying in the moment. And just making sure that we stay collectively as a group, as strong, as we can. And that right there, is the best recipe.”
The Nets will need every bit of time on-the court together to make up ground in the Eastern Conference standings. With just 21 regular season games to be played, Brooklyn (32-29) is currently slated for the 8th spot in the East. The NBA Play-In Tournament will take place on April 12th-15th. Immediately the day after, April 16th marks the beginning of the NBA Playoffs!
Brooklyn can get their foot in the right direction this upcoming week. Their next 4 games are against teams who are ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings (two-game stretch against Toronto Raptors, vs Miami Heat, @ Boston Celtics).
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