Nets' Kyrie Irving, Nic Claxton Draw Rave Reviews on Twitter in Win over Knicks

Kyrie Irving's stellar fourth quarter and a fantastic all-around game from Nic Claxton lifted the Brooklyn Nets to a 122-115 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday.

The first three quarters of this game didn't look great for Irving. He started out 6-of-16 from the field before making six of his final 11 shots. The eight-time All-Star dropped 21 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

This was the sixth straight game Irving has scored at least 30 points. He has made at least five three-pointers in four of those games.

Claxton almost finished with a triple-double after posting 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. The NBA leader with 2.7 blocks per game coming into today added three more to his total against the Knicks.

The 23-year-old's streak of five consecutive games with at least 20 points did come to an end, but he has now posted a double-double in each of the last four games.

Fans and analysts on Twitter had high praise for the Nets' duo of Irving and Claxton after their dazzling performances:

Since Kevin Durant went down with a knee injury, the Nets have been scuffling with six losses in their previous eight games. Their last game was an eight-point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

Irving's ability to turn things around in games is one of the biggest reasons he's arguably the best scoring guard in the NBA. He showed that skill in this game when the Nets needed it the most.

While most of the focus in Brooklyn over the past four seasons has, understandably, been around Irving and Kevin Durant, Claxton has been a much-needed developmental success story.

The No. 31 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Claxton barely played as a rookie and had a shoulder injury that required surgery. He got into 32 games during the 2020-21 season, but was still fighting for playing time behind DeAndre Jordan.

After carving out a larger role last season, Claxton has been elevated into the starting lineup this season. He's averaging career-highs across the board, including leading the NBA in field-goal percentage (74.7). That total increased from 74.3 after he made all six of his shot attempts against the Knicks.

When the Nets get Durant back with Irving and Claxton, they have all of the pieces in place to be the most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference.