Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaugn has his team rolling, and riding No. 7 and No. 11, All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The Nets took a six-game winning streak into last night’s (Wednesday) matchup at the Barclays Center with the Golden State Warriors and had won 10 of their previous 11. The Nets had risen to fourth overall in the East at 19-11.
Durant entered the game fifth in the NBA in scoring at 30.4 points per game and Irving was 15th posting 26.1. Brooklyn’s wins have come in a variety of ways, but last Friday’s victory against the Raptors in Toronto was dramatic and unifying.
Irving’s ability to freeze defenders and get them off balance led to his game-winning shot at the buzzer. His dazzling handle gave him enough separation from Raptors point guard Fred Van Vleet to elevate and knock down a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give the Nets a 119-116 walk-off. Irving scored 15 of his team-high 32 points in the fourth quarter. It was the seven-time All-Star’s first game-winning buzzer beater as a pro.
“It was a good matchup versus Fred,” said Irving of his battle with Van Vleet, who led all scorers with 39. “I just got the better of him that one time.” Irving expressed that the ending was unexpected. “Who would’ve thought I’d come to Toronto and hit my first game-winning buzzer beater of my NBA career.”
Durant added that he had little doubt about the outcome. “I had confidence as soon as he rose up for the shot that it was going in,” he said. “I’m sure everybody back in Brooklyn, and everybody on the bench felt the same way.”
Vaughn said Irving has found a good mental space which benefited him on the final play. “He definitely has an inner peace and poise that you have to have in that situation to not panic,”
observed the former 12-year player who previously was the head coach of the Orlando Magic from 2012-2015.
Two nights later, it was Durant at the forefront of the Nets’ 124-121 hard fought road win over the Detroit Pistons. He dropped 43 and was greatly helped by Irving’s 38 in the come-from-behind-victory in which Brooklyn trailed by 17 at halftime. Durant put his team back in the game, outscoring the Pistons by himself in the third. His 26 points were one more than the 25 by the Pistons collectively.
“I got a few free throws, and then I got some really good looks off of screens,” said Durant. “I wanted to stay locked in on defense, because that usually gets me going on offense.”
After the Warriors, the Nets will play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Barclays Center and then go on a three-game road trip taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday, the Atlanta Hawks next Wednesday and the Charlotte Hornets on New Year’s Eve.