MY ACCOUNT
Kyrie Irving impressed in only his second game of the season but insisted he still has to get up to speed after the Brooklyn Nets were surprisingly beaten at the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
A dominant third quarter from Portland, in which they bettered the visitors by 13 points, ended up being crucial as they ran out 114-108 winners, despite being short-handed going into the game.
Anfernee Simons starred with 23 points, six rebounds and 11 assists for the Blazers, who were missing Damian Lillard (abdomen) as well as Norman Powell (COVID-19 protocol), Larry Nance Jr (knee) and CJ McCollum, who is expected to return soon after recovering from a collapsed lung.
The Nets were themselves without James Harden (knee) but did have Kevin Durant (28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) on court. The 33-year-old’s points return marked 19 straight games with 20 or more points, the second-longest streak of 20-point games in Nets history.
Irving has refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and is therefore barred from playing in New York due to the city’s vaccine mandate, but was playing just his second game on the road for the Nets this season and managed 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
“It felt like I made a few good moves, but now it’s just getting back in that NBA action of that athleticism and catching up to that speed. That’s really what it is at this point, I feel,” Irving said after the loss.
Portland first-year coach Chauncey Billups had been effusive in his praise of Irving before the game, stating his belief that 29-year-old was the “most skilled point guard in history”.
After the victory for his team, Billups praised his own players, saying that nobody thought this result was possible.
“Certainly nobody in the world thought that we would win this game with the guys that we have missing, even though they’re missing some important players too,” Billups said. “I’m more happy than anything for our team, to be honest. We’ve suffered a lot of losses in this building, a lot of bad losses.”
The result means the Nets are 25-14 and second in the east while the Blazers improve to 16-24.
