After losing nearly two months, Kevin Durant was back. And it was brilliant.
The victorious.
Durant’s return from a hamstring injury raised the Nets to another level in a 139-111 thrashing of the Pelicans before 1777 at the Barclays Center. The win propelled the Nets (36-16) to first place in the Eastern Conference, with a half-game ahead of the 76ers.
While James Harden watched from the bench with hamstring strain, Durant returned after losing 23 games in a row with his own hamstring strain. Wednesday was his first action since Feb. 13 at Golden State, and his first game as a net against Brooklyn fans.
Last season, Durant missed the recovery from an Achilles break and COVID-19 forced the Nets to start this season without fans at the Barclays Center. The first taste of the fans of his star player was sweet. Durant had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists (and was a plus-17) in just 19 minutes off the bench. He also had six turnovers.
“I was hoping to get out here and play the way I played. I wasn’t trying to make the game easier. I just wanted to go out and dive straight into the action, “Durant said.” It was good to play in front of the fans, too. “
Kyrie Irving added 24 points and six assists, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points. But Durant was perfect from the ground (5 for 5), from beyond the 3-point arc (2 for 2) and from the charity strip (5 for 5). Truly an MVP, he opened the game to everyone.
Coach Steve Nash had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. No need to worry, the way the Nets blew up New Orleans. The Nets shot 55.4 percent, were 19 for 41 from depth and led up to 38 points.
“Everyone is excited to see him, what a great part of our team he is. And he’s one of the greatest of all time, so our guys definitely saw him again and he gave them a boost, ”Nash said. “We’ve had a lot of that this year, boys and girls. So it was good to have him back.
“It has been a long absence that no one predicted, even when it happened for the first time. So we are delighted to feel good, to play well and to come back. And seeing that smile on my face was also important to me. So I’m just delighted with him. He loves the game more than anything, and he has to be playing outside.
When Durant took off the warm-ups and headed for the goal scorer’s table in the second quarter, the Nets already had control. When he recorded at 7:37 in the half, with a loud roar, they led 53-44.
Durant gave a twist to an Irving feed to put the Nets at 58-46 with 6:42 left in the half and sent them to the runs.
From Durant’s record until the break, the Nets hit 8 of 12 shots to close out the half with a 26-15 run.
“When we move our bodies and move basketball the way we did and talk on defense, it’s fun,” Durant said. “You have veteran players who know how to play and it seems like these guys can finish my sentence before I finish. Therefore, these boys know the game from the inside ”.
When he sat down again at 4:46 a.m. on the third, the Nets had prepared a 48-30 stretch that spanned the interruption. They fired a 17-on-22 similar to a misprint with Durant on the ground during that prolonged offensive attack.
“It simply came to our notice then. It’s not hard to play basketball with Kevin Durant. It’s going to get better for the boys, “said Nash.
“After losing two months and then coming back and looking so comfortable, it’s crazy,” Blake Griffin said. “But when it comes to playing with him, players like that, some of the guys we have, just make the game easier.”
The Nets opened their lead to 120-82 early in the quarter on a Chris Chiozza 3, and the rest of the game was garbage time.