It was a basketball explosion from Brooklyn.
After falling early, the Nets dismantled the Magic, 129-92. The game took a turnaround of 48 points, from a drop of 10 at the start of the first to the final score.
Kyrie Irving led the way with an almost double-double of 27 points and nine assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes, while James Harden flirted with another almost triple-double of 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes, the Nets received great incentives from two of its players. Landry Shamet, who continues to increase his confidence outside the perimeter, finished with 19 points out of 7 out of 12 overall shots and 5 out of 9 deep to increase confidence. Your most impressive statistic, however, may be your plus / minus, a sterling +30! Then there was Nic Claxton in his second game after an injury.
Claxton, who once again saw the first minutes of the first quarter, showed his potential by finishing with 10 points and three rebounds, four steals, two blocks and an assist in 15 minutes, which included a thunderous dunk on the track. It resulted in a technique worthy of hanging from the edge while the Brooklyn bank exploded with excitement shouting “He’s back!”
As a team, Brooklyn ended the dominant victory with 44.4 percent depth and 53.3 percent overall, while recording 13 losses along the way. The Nets are now 22-12 in the season, halfway through the Eastern Conference lead. The eight-game winning streak is currently the longest in the league.
For Orlando, Nikola Vucevic did everything to keep the ship afloat. The All-Star finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes, followed by James Ennis III with 15 points in 16 m
It was a strange start for both teams, which included four balls of air in the first four minutes of the game. Brooklyn started the game offensively, hitting 2 of 9 on the field while the Nets spun Rover’s ball three times in that period, which resulted in Steve Nash timeout with 6:47 remaining in the first.
After the timeout, Nash replaced Nic Claxton and Landry Shamet, but Magic cleared their game as Orlando, led by Vucevic. The Nets started to pick up pace offensively in the final minute, ending the first with 28-24.
The Nets recovered in the second in style, scoring 60 points in 18 minutes. Brooklyn started their offensive attack with an 8-0 streak, regaining the lead in the first minutes of the second half, and continued.
Harden led Brooklyn’s offensive attack, with the Nets hitting eight consecutive shots, increasing his lead to eight points, with 3:58 to go. Brooklyn ended the second quarter with 41 points and went into the locker room with a 65-47 advantage, shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from the depths. Brooklyn’s 22-point lead at halftime was the second biggest positive differential in a quarter for the Nets this season. To make things even sweeter, the Nets overtook the Magic 41-19 in the second.
At half-time, DeAndre Jordan, who finished with eight points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes, was the only Net holder who did not score double digits. Harden, who scored three fouls at the break, led the Nets with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists, followed by Irving with 14 points in 18 minutes.
Brooklyn clicked offensively during the second half, showing their fluidity and great movement of the ball, beating Orlando by 27-25 in the third to enter the last 12 minutes of the game with a 20 point advantage.
The Nets started the room by simply pouring on to continue their dam offensively. With 7:17 left, Nash eliminated Irving and released his bank while Chris Chiozza and Tyler Cook checked in to join Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Tyler Johnson and Landry Shamet while the Nets went through the trash time to win their eighth win consecutive.
Ah yes, Kevin Durant lost his ninth game in the last 10. No word on when he will return from his hamstring injury.
Now, let’s take a look at a movie.
The cinema hall
“He’s the point guard, I’m the point guard,” Kyrie Irving’s quote from James Harden a few weeks ago, got a lot of traction on intentions. And, looking from the outside, it is easy to understand why; have someone like Kyrie Irving, who played point guard all his life in basketball, anoint other The player’s honor of taking the ball to the ground and creating for his teammates was a surprise, for sure.
But a large part of the speech around this quote may have missed the mark.
Here’s the reality: James Harden and Kyrie Irving … they are running the position of point guard. And the shooting guard’s location too. In some pieces, Irving escapes the action and shows off his unannounced cutting skills. In others, it is Harden who positions himself in a locked position, ready to detonate the three steps of hip-hoppity. At the end of the day, they are basket players, showing different skills and talents from around the world, depending on ownership needs. So, it might be better to throw out positions for a second and focus more on how these two Hall of Fame members are playing against each other.
Despite all the talk about egos, overlapping skills and how many basketballs there are (!!), the Nets have been playing with a sense of humility, looking out for each other’s interests. On several occasions, Steve Nash noticed that his group is a clicker. Watching this group drop three points after three with the bank exploding in celebration is hard to disagree with.
What is the next
The Nets return to action on Saturday, when the team hosts the Dallas Mavericks at 8:30 pm ET. In the meantime, expect the Nets to officially sign Andre Roberson and / or Iman Shumpert 10-day contracts.
For a different perspective, check out the Orlando Pinstriped Post, our sister site that covers the Orlando Magic.