SAN FRANCISCO — After his 48-point performance against Utah on Friday, Kyrie Irving was asked what the Nets could take from the win, given the unlikelihood he could sustain that level of scoring on a nightly basis.
“I don’t think it’s an unrealistic expectation,” Irving said. “But go ahead. I’m joking.”
Or was he?
Irving followed up Friday’s game with a 38-point performance to help lead the Nets over a fully powered Warriors team 120-116. Nic Claxton added 24 points and 15 rebounds, both career-highs, and set a franchise record for consecutive games with at least three blocks at 12. After going 5-16 without Kevin Durant a year ago, the Nets are now 2-4 with an update on the 6-foot-10 forward expected Tuesday.
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— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 23, 2023
“I mean the vibes were definitely incredible,” Claxton said. “… This is a huge win to come out and have some resiliency down the stretch and when they went on their runs for us to be able to withstand that and get the job done.”
When Durant first went down, coach Jacque Vaughn said he didn’t want Irving to feel added pressure to produce without his co-star out there. During the Nets’ four-game losing streak, Irving admitted he had. At times he forced shots and got in his head when they weren’t falling. On Sunday he said he was trying to be the Nets’ top option at times when he didn’t need to be.
During the Nets’ loss in Phoenix, Irving was 3-for-16 through the first three quarters and before scoring 21 in the fourth quarter to nearly rally the team. Afterward, Irving said he got hot by “just assuming that the next one’s going in and knowing that I could put our team in a great position if I make some shots.”
Lately, it’s shown. Irving’s night Sunday marked the first time in his career he has had three straight games of 30 or more points and at least five assists and rebounds.
“He’s been really good at picking his spots, understanding when we need him to take over the game, understanding how to be a decoy sometimes, how to be a screener,” Vaughn said. “So different levels of the game that he’s able to produce for us. And big buckets at the end of the game, whether it was getting fouled, rebound, just big plays. I think he loves that moment. And he’s continued to show so.”
It’s helped that Irving got help early from his teammates, giving him multiple options to kick out to when the double-teams came. In past games, when Irving wasn’t scoring, it made life harder for the rest of the offense. On Sunday it was the opposite. Royce O’Neale hit three 3s in the first quarter and his fourth came in clutch fashion. Irving found him on the perimeter with 28.5 seconds left to put the Nets up two, which would hold with a pair of Irving free throws. Joe Harris continued his slow climb back to the 3-point specialist he is, scoring 14 points while going 4-for-7 from 3. Harris is shooting 40 percent from 3 for the season but is still a few points down from his usual clip.
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— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 23, 2023
And then there’s Claxton, who continues to make a case for most improved player. The 6-foot-11 center from Georgia was relentless against Golden State. He matched up with Kevon Looney and Draymond Green and fought for multiple rebounds. Irving frequently looked for him in the paint. During Claxton’s rookie year, former Net Spencer Dinwiddie declared the Georgia product was the team’s “second most-talented player” trailing only Durant. Claxton has battled injuries throughout his time in Brooklyn, and should he play in the Nets’ next four games, he will tie a career high for games played before the All-Star break.
“I thought the last couple years he’s been really good,” Harris said of Claxton. “Obviously it’s in different spurts and there’s other guys that maybe affect whatever his rotation might be, his minutes might be, but he’s continually improved, physically he’s matured and put on weight, and I think that’s helped him out a lot especially going into this season.”
Claxton was block-less at halftime and realized he needed to increase his rejections if he wanted to set the Nets’ franchise record, twice set by Shawn Bradley in 1996. When Brooklyn’s offense got humming, Steve Kerr resorted to Hack-A-Clax, putting the 23-year-old on the line 15 times in the game. He made just six. Throughout the Nets’ four-game road trip, teams employed a similar strategy. Claxton averaged a dozen free throw attempts per game on the trip. Vaughn has expressed confidence in Claxton despite his 47 percent clip from the free-throw line. Claxton said he hopes to have the free throws fixed by the playoffs, but looks at the approach as a positive.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 23, 2023
“I definitely take it as a challenge,” Claxton said. “I don’t care. If teams are fouling me it’s almost a sign of respect. They can’t stop us, our team defensively and I just got to go up and knock the shots down. I’m going to take on that challenge every single time. It honestly gets me going, gets me activated because when I start getting fouled I want to go back to the line. If that’s what teams want to do then I’m (going to) take on that challenge. And yeah, I’ll be ready.”
The Nets now head to Philadelphia on Wednesday where Ben Simmons will face his former team for the second time at their home arena in what should be his first matchup against former teammate Joel Embiid. The Nets lost to the Sixers in their first meeting at Wells Fargo Center in November when Shake Milton rallied a short-handed team against the Nets. The team followed by going 12-1 in December.
Before Durant’s injury, the Nets were taking care of business by beating the teams they should. That came apart during their four-game losing streak with losses to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Now two weeks in without Durant, the Nets have figured out how to handle life without him. With two straight wins against healthy playoff teams, they’re raising the bar for what’s achievable until their franchise player returns.
“If we can do it here and we can do it against this team,” Irving said, “then we should be able to do it against anybody.”
(Photo of Kyrie Irving: Noah Graham / NBAE via Getty Images)