The Nets played back-to-back, and Irving Durant took turns to play, straight to the beginning of the seventh situation in the East

Kevin Durant and Carey Irving work together to help the Nets win key comeback wins against the Knicks / Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving spark Nets to crucial comeback win over Knicks

Published: April 6, 2022 US time

Publisher: The New York Post

Article author: Brian Lewis

Article translated by de Gaulle

Three years ago, instead of choosing the Knicks, Kevin Durant and Kerry Irving joined the Nets together. To this day, many Knicks fans are still angry about this. On April 6, local time, Durant and Irving appeared together in the Knicks' home madison Square Garden, and the two Nets stars told the 19,812 fans who arrived at the scene with practical actions why they chose the Nets in the first place.

This game, because it involves the Nets' regular season ranking and play-off position, so the team attaches great importance to it. However, the Back-to-Back Nets did not seem to get into the game well in the first half of the game, falling behind by 21 points at one point. In the end, with a 60-31 offensive attack in the second half, the Nets not only played the most half-time performance of the season, but also reversed their opponents in the same city and won a crucial victory.

Durant and Irving, who are the focal points, also played a performance worthy of their worth. Durant scored a game-high 32 points, along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists, delivering an all-around triple-double. Irving scored the second-highest 24 points in the team after scoring 42 points in the previous day's game against the Rockets, plus 8 rebounds and 7 assists, and Irving also contributed to the team's reversal.

It is worth mentioning that this is the first and last time Irving has been able to enter Madison Square Garden this season after New York changed its epidemic prevention policies. So when he finally left with victory, he did not forget to wave goodbye to the fans at home. "I did it because I needed to vent some energy," Owen said, "because for most of the time in this game, we were in adversity." In the process, I have always told my teammates that this is our game and not to give up. And finally waving at the audience, it means: 'Hey, we'll see you next year.' ’”

Irving does have a reason to say goodbye to the Knicks, because the Knicks, who were still in fourth place in the East at the end of the regular season last year, are currently only 12th in the East and have long since decided to lose the opportunity to play the playoffs. The Nets, in the battle with the Knicks, not only won back-to-back winning streaks, but also further consolidated their position as 8th in the East, and were only 1 win away from the 7th Cavaliers in the East.

In addition to the significance of the ranking, being able to beat opponents in the same city is worth the Nets' happiness at any moment. Counting this battle, the Nets have won seven straight against the Knicks. Considering that they were at one point behind 50-71 in the third quarter, the victory in this reversal undoubtedly made the Nets even happier. Moreover, this is also the second time this season that the Nets have played a reversal performance of more than 20 points in Madison Square.

"I hate being behind on the pitch, and I don't like to be that team that bounces back from behind and tries to reverse, I don't like it at all," Durant said after the game. At the same time, we were all very clear that Knicks fans didn't like us, especially in the context of both of us , me and Carey didn't choose the Knicks in the first place. Can you imagine what my social media has looked like since I decided to join the Nets? Knicks fans know they're still angry today and are still saying this and that. ”

This emotion was transformed into the court, and it became the reason why the Knicks, who had no desires and no needs, still died with the Nets. Led by Box, who scored 24 points, and Barrett, who scored 23 points, the Knicks, who played at home, once gave their fans hope of blocking the Nets. However, after the point difference reached 21 points, the Nets immediately set off a wave of 20-2 offensive attacks, completely turning the situation of the game.

"In the first half of this game, we didn't play the Nets' signature basketball game," Durant said, "and didn't show what we polished every day." But in the second half of the game, we finally changed back to ourselves. In the second half of the Nets' reversal, Durant alone scored 23 points, providing a steady stream of energy for the team in the process of reversion.

Recent back-to-back wins have helped the Nets tremendously. Earlier, due to a losing streak to the Bucks and Hawks, the Nets slipped to the 10th place in the East at one point. The toughest playoffs are on the horizon, but recent consecutive wins, combined with consecutive defeats against their opponents in three play-off areas – the Cavaliers, Nets and Hornets – have led to a situation where they are now rising to eighth in the East and there is still hope for "fighting for seven".

In the previous game against the Rockets, the Nets played best by Irving, who shot 13 of 24 in a single game, including 8 of 16 three-pointers, which allowed Irving to score 42 points in a single game and helped the Nets stop the losing streak in time. Nets guard Bruce Brown said after the game against the Rockets: "Carey's performance tonight was crucial for us, and if there was no Carey tonight, I don't think we could win the game." He gave the team plenty of energy and scored 42 points, scoring 21 points when he played. All his performances on the pitch are crucial. ”

I don't know if it was the 40 minutes of playing against the Rockets that affected Irving's efficiency, back-to-back games with the Knicks, Irving's 26 shots only hit 9 goals. But in the face of Irving's declining efficiency, Durant stepped forward. The two Nets superstars stepped forward in two games where the team needed them the most. After the ups and downs and twists and turns of the first half of the season, presumably this situation is also a picture that Nets fans have been looking forward to for a long time.

While the victory is gratifying, teams like the Knicks are more than 20 points behind, and Nets coach Nash is not happy because of this game process. "I was very unhappy for a while," Nash said, "and we played very badly in the first half of the game, without the fighting spirit, the spirit and the energy necessary for the game." In the second half, although you can see the players accept the challenge, we need to play like this all game. ”

After the derby with the Knicks, the Nets will have their own key battle for seventh place in the East. On April 9, Beijing time, they will welcome the Cavaliers, who are currently ranked seventh in the East, at home. In the first three meetings of the season, the Nets have taken the lead with 2 wins and 1 loss. Currently, the Nets are 1 win behind the Cavaliers. If they can beat the Cavaliers at home, they can equalize the difference in victory with their opponents, and at the same time, with the advantage of each other's win-loss relationship, they can surpass the seventh place in the West. Conversely, once they lose to the Cavaliers, the gap between the Nets and their opponents will be stretched to 2 wins, and they will not only be powerless to rush seven, but may even be snatched away by the eagles behind them.

In this context, looking back at Nash's dissatisfaction with the team's state, it seems that the reason can be understood. The Nets can't expect to be saved by two superstars in the lineup every game, and if they want to compete for a better play-off position, if they want to go further in the playoffs, they really need to continue their serious game attitude throughout the game.

"One of the things I'm happy to see is that our shots started hitting targets consistently," Durant said, "and the reason behind that is that we're putting in a lot of energy on the defensive end." So the key to the problem is to establish the right habits of play, and I like the attitude and habits we showed in the second half of this game. ”