Kyrie Irving Lifts Brooklyn Nets Past Golden State Warriors

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving propelled his team past the NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, scoring 38 points on 12 of 22 shooting in a 120-117 win. The Warriors returned stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green to the lineup after a Friday night rest, but Irving was still the best player on the court.

38 PTS | 9 AST | 7 REB

KAI was locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/IqDIKs8fCg
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 23, 2023

Irving also added nine assists and seven rebounds on his night. It was the second monster game in a row for Irving, who scored 48 in a 117-106 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday. He got some help from center Nic Claxton, who came through with career highs in points (24) and rebounds (15).

The ever-controversial Irving has re-established himself as a major on-court asset for the Nets this season, scoring 26.7 points per game with a .601 true shooting percentage over 35 games. Thanks to him (and the superlative play of Kevin Durant), the Nets are 29-17 this season and fourth in the Eastern Conference. After enduring four head-ache-inducing seasons from Irving that included signal boosting antisemitism and a self-sabotaging anti-vaccination stand, the Nets may finally fulfill the promise they demonstrated when Irving and Durant first teamed up in 2019.

The Nets will travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers on Wednesday.