Picture Credit: Twitter
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving had a historic scoring night against Orlando Magic as he put up a career-high 60 points in the Barclays Center. With Irving’s 60, the Nets registered a clinical 150-108 blowout victory. Now as the fourth seed, Brooklyn will hope to continue their form and ascend to the top of the eastern conference.
Irving talked about how the team helped him to get in the rhythm. He said, "It was just about the team really, just getting in the flow. That's the true purity of this game, doing it efficiently on both ends of the floor and coming out with a W."
"A few shots I probably shouldn't have taken. Tough ones, with double-teams and triple-teams coming," he said. "But as long as I can do it with a smile on my face and my teammates weren't too angry with me, it was worthwhile."
The 29-year-old guard also reached another milestone as he scored 41 out of his 60 points in the first half, which hasn’t been done in over two decades. He shot 20 for 31, including 8 of 12 on 3-pointers, in 35 minutes. He also hit 12 of 13 free throws and matched the highest individual point game this season.
Later, Kyrie also praised the team as they are gelling into a formidable unit after their recent massive trade. While talking with the Yes Network, he said, “I think it really is a testament to the way that we’ve been gelling as a team, and us just giving each other confidence and doing the right things.”
“When you can get 60 in the flow of a game and it doesn’t seem forced and you’re not putting up a few too many bad shots, and you come to the bench and guys are supporting you and telling you to go after the record, that makes basketball well worth it,” he then said.
His teammate Kevin Durant also reacted to Irving's 60-piece as he said, "The night after Karl Towns had an incredible performance, and then to have Kyrie do it the next night, the league is in an amazing place right now. We're seeing a lot of talent displayed every night, and this was one of the elite ones."