Kyrie Irving Puts on 'Absolute Show,' Wows Twitter as Nets Fall to Luka Dončić, Mavs
The hits keep on coming for the Brooklyn Nets despite the best efforts of Kyrie Irving in a 129-125 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Irving scored 39 points on 14-of-31 shooting, but he couldn't prevent Brooklyn from falling to 1-4 to open the 2022-23 NBA season.
Still, the dynamic guard's singular brilliance is partially why the Nets remain so tantalizing as a title contender despite all of the drama surrounding the franchise last year. There's almost nothing an opposing defense can do when Irving is at his best.
Basketball fans have seen it plenty of times before, yet it hasn't lost any of the excitement.
The Nets firmly had the momentum heading into overtime. Ben Simmons helped bring the home fans to their feet when he deflected a Luka Dončić pass to start the fast break and then laid the ball off for a game-tying dunk with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Luka Dončić hit a jumper to get the extra frame underway, and the Mavs didn't look back from there. Dončić poured in a game-high 41 points and added 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his first triple-double of the year.
While Thursday's defeat isn't a reason for panic, it has to be at least a little concerning the Nets could get 76 points from their two best players and still fail to come out on the winning end.
A pair of home games against the 1-4 Indiana Pacers could be just what they need to get things turned around.
