Watch: Kyrie Irving shocks Brooklyn Nets arena with a rare putback slam against the San Antonio Spurs
Despite being one of the most talented basketball players of his generation, it is very rare for Kyrie Irving to dunk. The Brooklyn Nets star brought the entire Barclays Center to their feet with a thunderous putback slam in the second quarter of Monday night's contest against the San Antonio Spurs.
Check out Kyrie Irving's putback dunk below:
KYRIE IRVING PUTBACK DUNK 😳 https://t.co/G4kGZVaqtj
The Brooklyn Nets went on to win the game by a score of 139-103 to extend their winning streak to 12 games, which is the longest such streak in the NBA this season. Brooklyn, who had been written off by many, improved their record to 25-12, moving within one game of the Boston Celtics for the best record in the league thus far.
Kyrie Irving finished with 27 points on 11-14 shooting from the field, 4-5 shooting from three-point range, and 1-2 shooting from the free-throw line. He added eight rebounds, one block, and one steal while finishing with a plus/minus of +28 in just 29 minutes of play.
Co-star Kevin Durant finished with 25 points on 10-14 shooting and 5-5 shooting from the free-throw line, while adding three rebounds, 11 assists, one block, and three steals. The Nets will take on the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night in the first game of a brief three-game road trip.
Kyrie Irving's Cleveland Cavaliers scoring record broken
Entering Monday night, Kyrie Irving was tied with LeBron James for the most points scored in a game by a Cleveland Cavaliers record. In March 2015, Irving finished with 57 points in a 128-125 overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs.
James would tie the record in November 2017, however, Donovan Mitchell broke the record Monday night. The Cavaliers star finished with 71 points in a 145-134 overtime win against the Chicago Bulls.
ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps shared Irving's reaction to the performance as he tweeted:
"Kyrie Irving said he and Donovan Mitchell were playing Call of Duty this afternoon and that he knew Mitchell was “locked in.” Said he’s happy Mitchell broke his Cavs record, and that records are meant to be broken."
Mitchell reacted to the tweet, sharing:
"Bruh told me and @BucketsONeale00 to take that nap😂😂😂@KyrieIrving"
Irving responded:
"Haha, Heck of a Night GODBODY🤞🏾♾"
Mitchell became just the seventh player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game. His 71 points were the highest number of points scored by any NBA player since Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in 2006.
Check out the tweets below:
Kyrie Irving said he and Donovan Mitchell were playing Call of Duty this afternoon and that he knew Mitchell was “locked in.” Said he’s happy Mitchell broke his Cavs record, and that records are meant to be broken.
Bruh told me and @BucketsONeale00 to take that nap😂😂😂 @KyrieIrving twitter.com/timbontemps/st…
Haha, Heck of a Night GODBODY
🤞🏾♾ twitter.com/spidadmitchell…