Sources: Nick Friedell @ ESPN
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kevin Durant leads #Nets‘ rally in bounce-back win over #Pelicans nypost.com/2023/01/06/kev… Street @nypostsports – 2:01 AM
Finals: Nets 108, Pelicans 102
Brooklyn picks up a gritty win despite 16/48 shooting from KD and Kyrie.
Overcame an 11-point halftime deficit by holding New Orleans to 38 points in the 2nd half. Just 39.8% from the field for the Pels on the night. – 10:08 PM
FINALS: Nets 108, Pelicans 102
CJ: 28p, 6r, 6a
Naji: 23p (career high), 9r
JV: 12p, 10r
Jose: 17p, 5r, 2a
Trey: 11p
Pels: 39.8 FG%, 12/29 3P, 20/25 FT
Nets: 43.5 FG%, 15/33 3P, 19/20 FT
KD: 33p, 9/26 FG, 11/11 FT, 10r
Kyrie: 19p, 5r, 5a – 10:08 PM
Finals: Nets 108, Pelicans 102
Naji Marshall scores a career-high 23 points.
Kevin Durant went for 33.
Competitive games. One team had its stars. One didn’t.
New Orleans loses for fifth time at home this season. Five-game road trip coming up. – 10:08 PM
KD tonight:
33 PTS
10 REB
2BLK
4 3P
14-2 since December 1st. pic.twitter.com/3I9NdnNxOs – 10:08 PM
Final: Nets beat the Pelicans 108-102. Kevin Durant finishes with 33 points. He’ll pass Dominique Wilkins on the all-time scoring list with his first basket in Miami on Sunday. Royce and Kyrie with some big shots down the stretch. Terrific game from Clax. – 10:07 PM
It’s a nice luxury to run a total nothing play on a huge possession that goes nowhere with no movement that’s perfectly defended, but it’s still KD kicking out to Kyrie for a contested 3. – 10:01 PM
Huge shot by Kyrie — gives the Nets a six point lead with 43.4 left in regulation. He’s been cold all night, but he’s hit some clutch shots down the stretch here.
Nets on the verge of picking up another win — even more impressive given KD/Kyrie are a combined 16-for-47. – 10:01 PM
This is why having a 1-2 of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving inspires so much confidence if you have a decent supporting cast.
Can be cold all game, but still hit the big ones. – 10:01 PM
On some of these recent defensive possessions, two undrafted Pelicans (Alvarado, Marshall) have been assigned to Durant and Kyrie. Now a second-rounder (Herb Jones) draws KD – 9:49 PM
Big stretch for the Nets here with Kevin Durant on the bench. How long can they go without Vaughn having to get him early? – 9:35 PM
End of the 3rd: Nets 88, Pelicans 85
McCollum 23 pts (8-20 FG)
Marshall 20 pts
Alvarado 15 pts
Durant 30 pts, 9 rebs
Pels were outscored 35-21 in the 3rd – 9:32 PM
CJ McCollum blocking a Kevin Durant jump shot is not something I expected to see in 2023 – 9:25 PM
Every time the Nets get a brief lead, CJ McCollum answers with a 3. He’s got 23 points. Pels lead 81-80 with 4:07 left in the third. Kevin Durant is up to 28 points. Tough night for Kyrie. He’s 4-for-13. Royce O’Neale with some big 3s this quarter. – 9:21 PM
Nic Claxton’s layup has the Pelicans’ lead down to two. It’s 69-67 with 8:59 left in the third. Kevin Durant is up to 26 points. I think he’s passing Dominique Wilkins on the scoring list tonight no problem. – 9:09 PM
End of 1st half: Pelicans 64, Nets 53
Marshall 15 pts, 5 rebs
Alvarado 15 pts
McCollum 13 pts
Durant 18 pts
Sensational half from the Naji/Jose/CJ trio. The pace has been the roof and they’re knocking shots down. Pels are 10-17 on 3s as a team, 16-17 at the free throw line – 8:50 PM
The Nets looked discombobulated on both ends of the floor throughout parts of the first half. They never found any rhythm — and the Pelicans just played harder.
KD has 18 points — nobody else is in double figures. The undermanned Pelicans are beating them at both ends. – 8:49 PM
HALF: Pelicans 64, Nets 53
– Naji: 15p, 5r, 2s
– Jose: 15p, 3r, 2a
– CJ: 13p, 3r, 3a
Pels: 43.2 FG%, 10/17 3P, 16/17 FT
Nets: 42.5 FG%, 6/15 3P, 13/14 FT
– Durant: 18p, 4/12 FG, 9/9 FT
– Kyrie: 7p, 3/9 FG – 8:49 PM
Halftime: Nets trail the Pelicans 64-53. Similar to Chicago, each time the Nets cut the lead down to two possessions, NOLA extended it. KD with 18 on 4-for-11 shooting. He can use some help. Pels shot 58 percent from 3. – 8:48 PM
Kevin Durant starts 1/7 from the field — somehow still finishes with 11 points in the first quarter to bring the Nets back from down 10.
Pelicans lead, 28-27, after a 10-1 Nets run following a JV timeout. Naji Marshall has 10 for NOLA. Nic Claxton has been everywhere w/3 BLKs. – 8:13 PM
End of the 1st: Pelicans 28, Nets 27
Marshall 10 pts (3-4 3PT)
Alvarado 5 pts
McCollum 3 pts (1-6 FG), 3 assts
Durant 11 pts (3-9 FG)
3-pointers
NOP: 6-9
BKN: 5-9 – 8:12 PM
End of the first quarter: Pelicans lead the Nets 28-27. Kevin Durant with a 3 before the buzzer. He started 3-for-9 from the field. Leads with 11. Nets offense woke up in the final minutes of the first quarter. – 8:11 PM
Pelicans leading Nets, 24-14, at the 3:14 mark of the first quarter. Both sides are playing intense but the Pelicans are hitting a few more shots. Herb Jones is playing great defense on Kevin Durant, who has 4PTS on 1/7 FG so far. – 8:05 PM
KD is in the @DukeWBB / @DukeMBB 15s tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/4r7So65IaF – 7:56 PM
Herb Jones is making a massive impact to start this game. Good defense on Kevin Durant, splashed a 3, and grabbed a tough offensive rebound – 7:55 PM
To spread a little good juju across the timeline, a reminder that Herb Jones blocked a Kevin Durant 3-point attempt in New Orleans’ 130-108 opening-night victory over the Nets. pic.twitter.com/fqUsNwo92k – 7:23 PM
Usual starters for the Nets in NOLA: Simmons, Irving, Durant, O’Neale and Claxton – 7:03 PM
Nets starters for tonight’s game at New Orleans:
Simmons, Irving, Durant, O’Neale and Claxton – 7:01 PM
Earlier this week on the podcast, I talked a lot with @_JasonLT on how Kevin Durant is my pick for the midseason MVP thus far. And I think one thing that’s gone under-discussed is his leadership as a steadying presence as a leader for the Nets.
youtube.be/IOe-ZafWDmQ – 5:09 PM
Larry Nance Jr. on KD & Kyrie: “They’re gonna make some shots (that) make you drop your head a little (and say) ‘I played good defense.’ But the key is to stay locked in & force them to keep making those shots, making the ones that are difficult w/ a hand in their face.” #Nets – 4:03 PM
The Brooklyn Nets represent the rare case of a team coming out the other side of a superstar trade request better than before.
And Kevin Durant clarified the big difference between his trade request and other stars’ in an exclusive interview.
Story here:clutchpoints.com/nets-kevin-dur… – 2:09 PM
Kobe’s advice to Durant after Achilles tear: ‘Don’t be af****** crybaby. It’s going to be all right.’ nba.nbcsports.com/2023/01/06/kob… – 1:43 PM
East All-Stars, per RPR MVP:
STARTERS
Donovan Mitchell
Jaylen Brown
Joel Embiid
Jayson Tatum
Kevin Durant
BENCH
DeMar DeRozan
Tyrese Haliburton
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Julius Randle
Pascal Siakam
Trae Young
Kyrie Irving
ALTERNATES
Porzingis, Garland, Harden, Brunson, Butler pic.twitter.com/yay1xOzdjX – 11:44 AM
Some good insight from KD in this Q&A he did with @Nick Friedell.
espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 9:28 AM
Kevin Durant sat down in an exclusive interview with @Nick Friedell to talk free agency, fans, tanking and more. e.g. pn/3Iu43RX – 9:11 AM
More on this storyline
Kyle Kuzma: Brooklyn is big time flowing!! KD should def be top of the mvp hunt -via Twitter @kylekuzma /January 7, 2023
We wasn’t playing no games. I didn’t interfere with what we were doing on the court every day. It wasn’t a question of what you were asking my teammates every day after a game or a practice. What I did didn’t get in the way of the games that was being played, so I felt like that’s the difference in everything. So we hashed that all up right before camp, and it was cool, it didn’t get in the way of the hoops. So that’s the difference between what happened with those guys and [me]. -Street ESPN /January 6, 2023
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