‘Complacent’: Nets no closer to solving Simmons issue… even after another win
Kevin Durant carried load once more on Saturday because the Brooklyn Nets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-95 on Sunday for his or her fourth NBA victory within the 5 video games since Kyrie Irving was suspended.
Star guard Irving was suspended for at the very least 5 video games by the Nets after utilizing social media to publicise a movie broadly denounced as anti-semitic.
Although he has now reached the minimal, Nets coach Jacque Vaughn mentioned earlier than Sunday’s recreation that Irving wouldn’t return for Sunday’s conflict with the Lakers in Los Angeles.
The Nets opened their Southern California sojourn with a hard-fought victory over the Clippers, Durant scoring 27 factors with six rebounds, three assists, two blocked photographs and two steals.
Watch a median of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season video games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Nets title Jacque Vaughn as head coach | 01:45
Reserve Seth Curry caught hearth late, scoring 14 of his 22 factors within the fourth quarter because the Nets lastly put the back-and-forth battle away.
Durant, 34, is the primary participant to start out a season with 13 straight video games scoring at the very least 25 factors because the nice Michael Jordan had 16 25-point video games to open the 1988-89 marketing campaign.
He’s made positive the Nets have weathered the absence of Irving, in addition to the persevering with struggles of Ben Simmons, who got here off the bench and scored only one basket.
The Australian, acquired final season within the commerce that despatched James Harden to Philadelphia, completed with two factors, 5 rebounds and three assists.
Clippers star Paul George endured a tricky capturing evening, connecting on simply 5 of 12 photographs on the way in which to 17 factors.
Center Ivica Zubac scored 16 factors and grabbed 15 rebounds and Marcus Morris added 13 because the Clippers stored the stress on till the Nets put collectively a late 18-2 scoring run.
While the possible of seven-time All-Star Irving’s return stays unknown, his state of affairs gave the impression to be heading towards a decision after each NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Nets proprietor Joe Tsai mentioned this week they’d had productive talks with the participant.
Irving got here below hearth for his hyperlink to the movie “Hebrews to Negroes: wake up black America,” and his preliminary refusal to apologise prompted the Nets to droop him.
Even after he supplied an apology on Instagram, attire large Nike mentioned it was “suspending” its relationship with him, cancelling the launch of the Kyrie 8 shoe that was anticipated this month.
