"He's the best player in the world" - Andre Drummond gives Kevin Durant a massive compliment, says "it's fun to watch" KD work his magic
Kevin Durant had one of the best nights of his career against the New York Knicks, scoring 53 points in the Brooklyn Nets' 110-107 win on Sunday.
Durant finished just shy of his career high of 54 points, set against the Golden State Warriors in 2014. He set his career high for field-goal attempts at 19 of 37.
Durant, with six rebounds and nine assists, secured Brooklyn's third straight win by making a clutch 3-pointer over RJ Barrett with less than a minute left.
Andre Drummond, who bore witness to Durant's sizzling performance, said this on Sunday:
"It's fun to watch. It's fun to watch. It's fun to be a part of. He's the best player in the world, you know. It's real cool for me just to be a part of this and to watch him be great."
"He's the best player in the world." https://t.co/4Fi2hHisV8
Drummond himself had a great night, totaling 16 points and 10 rebounds, with Bruce Brown Jr. adding 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Brooklyn Nets' late-season push for the playoffs
Kevin Durant's uber-aggressive approach Sunday reflected the Nets' desperate need for wins. The Nets (35-33) are eighth in the Eastern Conference. Teams 7-10 go into the play-in tournament. The team that finishes sixth avoids the play-in tournament. Brooklyn, with 14 games remaining, is 3.5 games behind the sixth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (38-29).
Since KD's return, the Nets (35-33) have gone 3-2. Irving and Durant have each produced 50-point efforts in their three-game winning streak. They also secured a 129-100 win in the much-anticipated game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. The winning streak came after a 3-17 tailspin.
Before Durant sprained his MCL, he was having an MVP-caliber season, averaging 29.7 points per game, his highest since his 2013-14 MVP season. Durant's play-making has also seen a rise, with him averaging 5.9 assists a game, the second-highest in career.
With Irving still only available in games outside of New York City, Durant shoulders both his and Irving's scoring burden when they play at the Barclays Arena. The unvaccinated Irving can be a spectator when the Nets play at home or in Madison Square Garden, owing to to a private-sector mandate for unvaccinated people.
Irving, then, can only play in four of Brooklyn's remaining 14 games. He is ineligible to play at Madison Square Garden on April 6.
The Nets will look to secure the majority of their wins in the absence of Irving. They will have to pin their hopes on Durant propelling them into the playoffs, steering them clear of the play-in games.