James Harden in – maybe – and Kyrie Irving.
The Nets’ overall priority as a playoff beacon is getting healthy. But as Harden returns from his long hamstring injury, Irving knocked him in the face with an illusion on Tuesday’s win in Chicago.
Brooklyn wired, drilling the Bulls 115-107 before 3,434 at the United Center. But this victory was Pyric’s very definition.
Yes, the Nets (45-24) pulled 1 of the game ahead of Milwaukee for second place in the Eastern Conference, pending the third-seeded Bucks’ game against the Magic on Tuesday night. But they lost Irving, and with only three games left in the regular season – including a home tilt against San Antonio on Wednesday – it remains to be seen when they will bring him back.
Kevin Durant had a team-high 21 points and eight asses that led to eight nets in a double-figure. Joe Harris added 17 in a balanced effort as Brooklyn provided 32 assists on 42 baskets.
Zach LaVine had a game-high 41. But no other Bulls were above 13, with Nikola Vucevic scoring just 12 points on 5 of 18 shooting.
Nets coach Steve Nash had already said, “I think his two bread-and-butter offensive scenarios are pick-and-roll with LaVine and a bit young with Voche.”
He said, “They often grow up because they can be very important to us, and as always, we really want to prioritize our own performance and really accelerate the work we do and Play together. As always, if we do that, then hopefully we are in a good position to win ourselves, regardless of what they do. “
Vucevic has always been a noted net-killer, just not usually this way. He scored 26.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in the first four games of this season against Brooklyn, but after finishing fifth after defending the Nets, Weswick made his mark on Irving.
The All-Star point guard took a vicious elbow to the right side of his face, which shortly after collided with the floor and fell down. Flat on his back for several minutes, Irving covered his face and then began banging on the court in pain. He was eventually helped and with 10:08 left in the third quarter the Nets went to the locker room with 68-58.
Irving – who suffered a left facial fracture in last season’s training camp – did not return the rest of the night. It is not clear when that will happen.
At the final training camp, Irving faced a ruckus and missed time. With just three games left in the regular season, Irving’s position continues to advance.
Irving won the first quarter with 13 points, when he set the tone for this victory.
Brooklyn started the game the way it closed the last one, rallying 21 points down to win in Denver.
The Nets scored the first eight points – 3-pointers from Joe Harris and Blake Griffin, followed by durant pull-ups and never looked back.
When Irving drilled a pull-up 3-pointer to make it 18-7, Bulls coach Billy Donovan saw enough and called a timeout. It did not help.
The Nets had clearly noticed Denver’s movement of the ball which gave them an early fit. He had a dozen assists in a dozen first-quarter baskets, leading 32–23. He said Harris is 53–36 on the jump to Bruce Brown in the second and 93–74 on the Harris pull-up with 1:22 to play in the third.
Brooklyn saw Chicago run 13–3 and with three minutes to go, they were up to 105–97. But the Nets held Chicago at arm’s length.
Mike James came off the bench with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists to fill in for Irving. Bruce Brown – playing with a mask due to his own broken nose in Monday practice – had 15 points and 10 boards.
Second-year big man Nick Claxton earned his first career double-double with 10 points, 10 boards and two blocks.
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