BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Kyrie Irving dropped 50 points in his Brooklyn Nets debut, but it wasn’t enough for the Nets to get an opening night victory, falling to Minnesota 127-126 at Barclays Center, Wednesday.
Irving became the first Nets player since Deron Williams in 2012 to score 50 or more points in a game — seventh in Nets’ franchise history. He also added eight rebounds and seven assists to his impressive stat line. And he didn’t turn the ball over. Not once.
The point total was seven shy of his individual career high, set in March 2015 when he was still with Cleveland.
But the only thing that mattered was the end result.
Following a pair of free throws from Irving, the Nets trailed by one with 37 seconds left. They forced a miss from Karl-Anthony Towns with 20 seconds left and the door was left wide open.
The building was ready to erupt, ball in Kyrie’s hands.
Nets fans wanted the moment to happen, but Kyrie slipped as time winded down, got up and missed an open look as time expired.
Irving set an NBA record for most points in a player’s first game with a new team. The Nets, meanwhile, have not won a season opener since 2012. Towns, who typically goes off against the Nets, finished with 36 points and 14 rebounds, while Wiggins, who sealed the deal for Minnesota, finished with 21.
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REWIND
With the crowd on its feet and Irving putting on a show, the Nets looked to be in good hands. Tied at 112 apiece, Irving stepped back and nailed a three with 1:12 remaining which gave the Nets a three-point lead.
But then, Towns tied it up at 115 apiece with a three of his own.
Down trotted Kyrie and the Nets. He drove, got the the hole on the baseline and dished it off to Jarrett Allen who was fouled with 5.7 seconds left. Instead, he missed both free throws. Taurean Prince came swarming in for the offensive board, but missed on the follow-up attempt.
Irving did all he could — scoring the final nine points in the fourth, but the Nets simply didn’t execute when they needed to.
The Nets trailed by as many as 18 in the first half with Irving and Caris LeVert (20 points) handling most of the work, perhaps too much of it. Prince was held scoreless in first half, as was Joe Harris who hadn’t attempted a three at that point.
Then, they jumped out on a 15-2 run to start the second half, taking a one-point lead then increasing it to eight as the fourth quarter came along. It was a no-look pass from Kyrie Irving to Joe Harris for his first three of the night.
They were up 98-90, but committed more turnovers in the first couple of minutes of the fourth (seven) than they did through the first three quarters (six), thus leading to an 11-2 run for Minnesota.
The rest was history. The Nets are 0-1 to start the season and simply couldn’t fully overcome Minnesota’s 68-point first half.
Prince scored all 15 of his points in the third quarter, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Harris chipped in 14 apiece. Dinwiddie struggled, though, with five turnovers on the night.
Ultimately, Brooklyn’s poor defense and sloppy play allowed Minnesota back into the game in the fourth quarter. They committed just six turnovers the first three quarter and then committed 10 total in the fourth and overtime.
It was fun. It was good to be back, but a loss is a loss and this was one the Nets should’ve had.
HOMECOMING
Kyrie Irving addressed Nets fans prior to the game and stopped in his tracks, saying: “Man, it’s just hitting me now.”
KEVIN DURANT INTRODUCED
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Next up: Friday, 7:30 PM vs. the New York Knicks
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October 23, 2019 at 07:41PM
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