The Brooklyn Nets emerged with a 122-116 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, amidst all the Kyrie Irving “off the grid” brouhaha. For his part, head coach Steve Nash admitted that he was just happy to score a much-needed win.
After the game, the rookie coach expressed his delight in the victory:
Steve Nash says the 122-116 victory over the Nuggets was a “great win.”
“We needed it, I think, for our soul.”
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) January 13, 2021
Kyrie Irving, who has made headlines as of late for being away from the team for personal reasons, was still absent for Tuesday’s tilt–marking his fourth consecutive missed game.
It was Kevin Durant who stepped it up for the Nets in the game, finishing with a game-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. The former league MVP also collected nine rebounds, 13 assists and drained four triples in what was another dominant display.
Joe Harris (15), Bruce Brown (16), Caris LeVert (20), and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (11) all logged double digits for Brooklyn, who put up a concerted effort to defeat Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in the Barclays Center.
As for Irving, there is still no word on when the 28-year-old will return to the team. A viral video of Kyrie attending a family party without a mask is currently making its rounds on social media, which has reportedly prompted a league investigation.
The NBA is still quite a ways away from the mid-point of the season, but the drama in Brooklyn is already in full swing. All this seems to be having some sort of effect on the team’s performance as a whole, with Steve Nash and the Nets currently 6-6 on the campaign.
