Kyrie Irving scores 39 points, Kevin Durant adds 37, but Nets still fall to Mavericks in OT
Kyrie Irving #11 of the Nets puts up a shot in the first half for a basket against Reggie Bullock #25 of the Dallas Mavericks at Barclays Center on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
For the fifth time in five games, the Nets allowed an opponent to score more than 30 points as Luka Doncic tallied 41 for Dallas at Barclays Center on Thursday night.
Still, the Nets had a chance to win as they battled the Mavericks after losing in Milwaukee the night before, but they ran out of gas in overtime and lost, 129-125. They fell to 1-4 despite 39 points from Kyrie Irving and 37 from Kevin Durant.
“We’re trying to find an identity and find a cohesion,” coach Steve Nash said. “Once we get a more full rotation, we’ll get a look at what this team is. So right now it’s showing our character and continuing to fight for one another.”
Doncic, who finished with 14 assists and 11 rebounds, either scored or assisted on Dallas’ first 15 points of overtime.
“All they do is go to him over and over in the pick-and-roll,” Nash said. “Get a matchup and make a play. That’s a lot of responsibility for him, but he handles it almost every day.”
Doncic hit the first basket of overtime and former Knick Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas’ second-leading scorer with 18 points) made a three-pointer to give Dallas a 117-112 lead. Maxi Kleber and former Knick Reggie Bullock also hit threes to put the Nets down by nine. The closest they got after that was three with 16.5 seconds left, but it took the Nets nine seconds to foul Bullock. He hit the second free throw for the game’s final point.
The Nets went into the fourth quarter trailing by six, but behind Irving and Durant, they took a 110-106 lead.
With Dallas leading 112-110, Doncic was trying to wind the clock down when Ben Simmons (seven points) stole the ball and fed Durant for a rim-rocking righthanded slam to tie the score at 112-112 with 8.8 seconds left. Bullock had a potential game-winning three rim out just before the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
Irving scored 13 in the fourth quarter and Durant added 10.
The Nets took a 9-2 lead, but Doncic scored 13 in the first quarter as the Mavs went ahead 30-23.
Multiple defenders tried and failed to contain Doncic. The only time the Nets seemed to bother him defensively was when Yuta Watanabe caught him with an elbow to the nose late in the first. But the superstar hit two free throws and a three-pointer on the next trip down.
The Nets played one night after a bruising 110-99 loss in Milwaukee that featured an Irving moment that went viral.
In the third quarter Wednesday night, Irving drove and passed to Simmons just outside the paint. Simmons kicked the ball out to Durant, who hit a jumper. Irving was seen yelling “Shoot it, Ben!” as the play unfolded.
“This is a big-picture thing,” Irving said. “We want Ben to be aggressive every single play. And we want him to get assists every single play. And we want him to rebound. And play against the best player. We want him to do all the things we think he’s capable of, but at this time, he’s going to have to work himself into his own confidence and feel good about himself. And I’m not going to say I’m being patient or humble about it. But the reality is that we’re just going to keep having to try this experiment every single night until we get the right recipe.”
Shooting has never been Simmons’ strong point.
“I just think if we are going to come in and be honest as a team, I’m not trying to be critical of what Ben’s done wrong and done right every night,” Irving said. “He’s a basketball player. He’s a professional. He has the skills to be a great professional. He’s done it in the past. He hasn’t played in two years and you guys keep coming in here and asking me, ‘What about Ben? What about Ben?’ He hasn’t played in two years.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
