The celebration at Barclays Center started two minutes into the second quarter of the Nets’ wire-to-wire, 139-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Yuta Watanabe pulled up for a contested free-throw line jumper that bounced off again iron into the air. That’s when Kyrie Irving beat Spurs heart Zach Collins in a foot race from the left wing outdoors the three-point line to the rim and put-back Watanabe’s miss with a one-handed dunk that introduced each fan in Barclays Center to their ft.
Ben Simmons stated Irving’s dunk felt like a recreation of NBA 2K23: “I didn’t know he could do that,” he stated.
Irving joked that he’s uninterested in teammates downplaying his athleticism.
“On a serious note I’m glad I can have those type of plays at times to galvanize the group. Glad it went in. Good timing,” he stated. “I’ve been working on my body for the last year and a half two years especially recovering from that traumatic ankle injury I had during the 2021 playoffs. I just felt like I didn’t have my feet underneath me at the end of last season, so coming into this season, I definitely put an emphasis on being more on my toes and getting stronger and my foundational base.”
Gregg Popovich instantly known as a timeout, however the Nets had already begun celebrating Irving’s dunk, a second that encapsulated the temper of a company now rolling into the New Year after the staff prolonged its profitable streak to 12 video games Monday evening.
Watanabe’s fingers have been behind his head whereas backpedaling on protection as if he couldn’t imagine what he had seen. Kevin Durant, who was on the bench, jumped out of his chair and ran up the sidelines. Both Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe rushed baseline from the bench whereas Irving flexed within the course of his teammates. Royce O’Neale, a late scratch on account of a non-COVID associated sickness, tweeted a response that might communicate for many within the constructing.
“Nahhhhhhh Ky ain’t just do that,” O’Neale posted with a bunch of exhaling face emojis. “Omg.”
And after directing some phrases at his bench, Irving walked close to the scorer’s desk and gestured in direction of the gang, holding one arm up and motioning his pointer finger down.
“This is my city,” stated Irving, a New Jersey native, to the followers within the enviornment.
The lights at Barclays Center went darkish then fluttered after Popovich’s timeout, as if a celebration had commenced. In actuality, the Nets have been in a groove since Jacque Vaughn took over as head coach. They stay the most popular staff in all of basketball, now 23-7 with Vaughn as coach and winners of all however one in every of their final 17 video games.
“Probably a big smile on my face [after Irving’s putback],” Vaughn stated postgame. “We actually just replayed it right there to the group. We talked about it, about celebrating each other and for him to have a dunk and our guys appreciate and enjoy it and really cheer him on is pretty cool.”
Wins just like the one they secured in opposition to the Spurs Monday evening are why the Nets now rank forward of the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers within the Eastern Conference standings. The Nets have been, at one level, -1000 favorites to beat the rebuilding Spurs coming into 2023. The Nets of previous, nonetheless, made it a follow to play right down to the extent of their competitors.
No such factor has occurred this 12 months, at the least not since Vaughn changed Steve Nash as head coach seven video games into the season. The Nets have grow to be a staff that will get up and performs exhausting, regardless of who’s on the opposite facet of the ground — and regardless of who’s in or out of Brooklyn’s rotation for no matter motive.
Irving’s putback dunk accounted for simply two of the 27 factors he tallied on the evening, together with 21 within the first half alone. He shot four-of-five from downtown and 11-of-14 from the sector earlier than slowing it down within the third quarter. On one possession, he trailed Ben Simmons on a quick break, and Simmons discovered him with a number one bounce go for a walk-in three. Simmons tallied 9 assists within the opening two durations as properly, matching Durant for many assists in any half of any Nets recreation this season.
Durant completed with 25 factors on 10-of-14 taking pictures from the sector to go together with 11 assists. He acquired an ovation for passing Tim Duncan for fifteenth place on the NBA’s all-time main scorers listing, although he did so throughout Brooklyn’s three-game highway journey. Seth Curry began rather than O’Neale and hit 4 threes for 16 factors, and Joe Harris performed in his first recreation after lacking 4 with a sore left knee. Harris performed 16 minutes off the bench and completed with eight factors.
Monday’s victory marked the biggest margin of victory for the Nets in opposition to the Spurs since their 26-point win over San Antonio in 1993. The Nets now hit the highway to tackle a more durable opponent, with DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls ready within the Windy City on Wednesday.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com