Kyrie Irving emphasizes winning above all as Brooklyn Nets pull off impressive comeback win: "1st option, 2nd option... they don't f**king matter"
Kyrie Irving once again willed his team to an important victory on Sunday night despite the absence of his co-star Kevin Durant. The Brooklyn Nets walked into the defending champions' house at the Chase Center and found themselves trailing by 12 points with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Nets persisted with a 22-6 run to end the game after a flurry of clutch buckets. Irving went on an incendiary run to close the game and silence his critics, showing that he can lead his team when needed while displaying his clutch gene down the stretch.
After Durant got injured, the Nets lost four straight games, and Irving's numbers weren't impressive. Three of those four losses came against poor teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and an injury-riddled Phoenix Suns team. Pundits started criticizing Irving, reiterating that he cannot be the team's first option and will always play second fiddle. It was the same criticism he received during his post-LeBron stint in Boston.
But Kyrie Irving has turned the page since and kept all the condemnation behind him. He dropped 48 points and won the game against Utah on January 20 by going nuclear in the final quarter. He did the same tonight against the Dubs, finishing the evening with a game-high 38 points.
As reported by the New York Post's Brian Lewis, Irving addressed the criticism after the game, saying:
"I told you guys that I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be the first option or the second option or the main one. This is just a message for everybody at home: 1st option, 2nd option, 3rd option, they don't f**king matter to me...The objective is to win."
Okay Kyrie I see you!!! Back to back wins with box office performances as the Number 1 option. I’ll STFU for now!!! Carry the hell on…
With the Nets trailing by two with 1:20 remaining, Kyrie Irving hit a clutch mid-range shot after getting fouled to put his side up by one. He also assisted Royce O'Neale for the triple that sealed the game for Brooklyn. Irving finished with 38 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while shooting 12-22 from the field, including 5-7 from beyond the arc.
KYRIE AND-ONE 💪
NETS LEAD 115-114 WITH 1:12 TO GO.
WATCH: app.link.nba.com/e/nba_TV https://t.co/rkCg9cngvI
The Nets are 2-4 since Kevin Durant got hurt, and their two victories have been mainly because of Irving. The reality is that Kyrie Irving doesn't need to be the first option to win a title. He just needs to keep his team afloat while KD is recovering from injury, which is exactly what he did tonight. With Durant returning soon and Irving fully fit, the Nets are certainly a scary team in the East.
Kyrie Irving taunts a Warriors fan about Steph Curry after the Nets' first win against the defending champs
The Brooklyn Nets won their first matchup against the Golden State Warriors at home last month in a 30-point blowout. Steph Curry did not play in that game due to a shoulder injury, and many analysts believed the game would have gone differently had the reigning Finals MVP laced up. However, Kyrie Irving was also absent from that game due to a calf injury, and he was confident that the result wouldn't change even if the teams were healthy.
When a fan on the sidelines taunted Irving, suggesting that Curry didn't play, Irving responded by saying:
"He gotta guard me and I gotta guard him. So let’s see what happens when Steph plays."
Last month, a Warriors fan told Kyrie “let’s see what happens when Steph plays.”
Kyrie: “He gotta guard me”
Tonight, Kyrie dropped 38 & the Nets beat the Warriors w/o KD
https://t.co/WE9gy0FpWw
Irving taunted the individual during the game in Brooklyn, calling him a "Warriors fan" in front of Durant. He showed his teammate that an opposition fan was talking trash courtside, and the two Nets stars went at him.