With another devastating performance from their star Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets won 110-95 on Saturday at the Los Angeles Clippers court and added their fourth victory in the five games played since the suspension of Kyrie Irving.
The controversial Irving was sanctioned at least five games for his promotion of a movie considered anti-Semitic and, although he has already reached that minimum, the Nets advanced that for the moment he will continue to be separated from the team.
In Los Angeles, Brooklyn made another showing of improving defense since the firing of coach Steve Nash earlier this month and his replacement by his assistant Jacque Vaughn. Thanks to him, the Nets have not allowed any of their last five rivals to exceed 100 points.
Kevin Durant shone on offense with 27 points and on defense with 2 steals and 2 blocks, and backup Seth Curry hammered the Clippers with 14 points and 4 three-pointers in a blistering fourth quarter for Brooklyn.
Durant, at 34, is the first player to start a season with 13 straight games scoring at least 25 points since Michael Jordan did it in 16 games in 1988-89.
In addition to the absence of Irving, the Nets also hardly have their third figure, Ben Simmons, who came off the bench again and took 13 minutes to score his only basket.
The Aussie, acquired last season in exchange for star James Harden, finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 14 minutes.
The Clippers suffered from the shooting error of their figure Paul George, who scored 17 points with 5/21 shooting from the field.
Center Ivica Zubac, with 16 points and 15 rebounds, and power forward Marcus Morris, with 13 points, kept the Clippers alive until the Brooklyn shooters caught fire in the fourth quarter.
Led by Curry, who finished with 22 points, the Nets managed an 18-2 run that ended local hopes.
– Irving will remain suspended –
After a dismal start to the season, the Nets have rebounded from Irving’s suspension by adding four wins in their last five games.
The controversial point guard, seven-time All-Star, caused a scandal in the NBA by spreading a link to the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: wake up black America” (2018) on his social networks, which includes content considered anti-Semitic, and repeatedly refusing apologize later.
Coach Jacque Vaughn advanced that he will not have Irving at least for Sunday’s game against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
However, the point guard’s return to the team, which was once in doubt, seems more feasible after he had meetings in recent days with Nets owner Joe Tsai and NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Brooklyn still has two more games scheduled on its current West Coast trip, Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings and Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Sunday’s day includes another seven games, including the duel between the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets in which LaMelo Ball could debut this season.
The young point guard, chosen Rookie of the Year in 2021, missed the first month of competition with the Michael Jordan franchise due to a sprained ankle.
