NEW YORK — After Kevin Durant and James Harden were the only two Nets players to score in double figures Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets, Durant said Brooklyn is not losing confidence amid a 1-2 start and has enough to win without Kyrie Irving.
Durant, who poured in 38 points in the 111-95 loss, was asked twice if he thinks the Nets have enough to win without their starting point guard, especially when things get tough in games.
“While we are playing in a game, I am not going to sit there and say … when we get down or it is a tight game, like ‘Damn, we don’t have enough,'” Durant said. “We are not going to be thinking about [that] during the game. We definitely want Kyrie Irving out here on the floor. And he is a huge part of what we do. But it is not happening right now. So we got to figure it out.
“But no one is going to lose confidence while we playing and hope Kyrie comes to save us during the game. No, we got to play. Everybody here is confident in what they do. We just got to play.”
The Nets have started the regular season like it’s an extended preseason. Coach Steve Nash has been experimenting with different lineups and rotations to adjust to the absence of Irving, who has not complied with New York City’s mandate of getting at least one vaccination shot in order to play at Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks.
In last week’s season opener, the Nets were outhustled and outmuscled by the Milwaukee Bucks, who routed them 127-104. They then needed a triple-double from Durant and to score 16 of the game’s final 17 points to beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
On Sunday, demonstrators stood outside Barclays Center to voice support for Irving’s stance on not getting vaccinated. Inside the arena, the Nets could’ve used Irving, as Durant and Harden (15 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) were the only two Nets to score at least 10 points.
The Nets were outscored 32-17 in the fourth quarter, with Durant scoring 9 points and Harden…
Source : espn
