Brooklyn Nets waste Kyrie Irving’s spectacular debut; 3 takeaways
By Phil Watson
Kyrie Irving’s debut with the Brooklyn Nets was almost perfect — 50 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 0 turnovers. If only the Nets hadn’t lost the game …
Barclays Center was sold out for Wednesday night’s season opener for the Brooklyn Nets and there was a definite buzz in the building for the debut of Kyrie Irving as a Net.
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Individually, that debut couldn’t have gone much better. Irving set an NBA record for the most points by a player debuting with a new team, scoring 50 points on 17-of-33 shooting, hitting 7-of-14 from 3-point range to go with a 9-for-10 performance at the foul line.
Irving also posted eight rebounds, seven assists and did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes.
But as a team, the Nets fell flat in the first half and, despite a huge third-quarter comeback, had nothing left for the finish, dropping a 127-126 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime.
Caris LeVert added 20 points and three steals for the Nets, but also turned the ball over five times, while Taurean Prince had a double-double in his first game for Brooklyn with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jarrett Allen got the lion’s share of the playing time at center and had five blocks in 36 minutes, but finished with just six points and nine rebounds.
He also missed two crucial free throws late in regulation that could have given the Nets the win. With the score tied at 115-115, Allen was fouled on a put-back attempt and clanked both free throws. Prince wormed his way inside of Karl-Anthony Towns for the offensive board, but Towns rejected Prince’s put-back layup.
In overtime, the Nets never led by more than one, taking their last lead on Joe Harris‘ 3-pointer from above the break with 1:35 remaining. Irving fell down on the game’s final possession, scrambling to his feet and missing a free-throw line fadeaway that never had a chance.
Brooklyn did some things well, shooting 44.1 percent from 3-point range. But they also did some things poorly and coach Kenny Atkinson’s first look at a 10-man rotation for the season might have some flaws.
Here are three takeaways from Game No. 1 of 82 … a reminder that an NBA regular season is a marathon, not a sprint.