Julius Randle and the New York Knicks (28-40) took on Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets (35-33) in part of the NBA Sunday slate. It was KD’s Nets that got the win with 110-107 being the final score.
The Nets were coming off a masterful 129-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in a true playoff atmosphere. Kevin Durant (25), Seth Curry (24), and Kyrie Irving (22) each surpassed the 20-point threshold.
With New York City still not making changes to their COVID-19 mandate, Kyrie Irving is ineligible to play.
The Knicks were coming off a 118-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies that featured giving up a lead in the second half, but Julius Randle (36) and RJ Barrett (23) combined for 59 points.
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Kevin Durant poured in a staggering 53 points to carry the Nets to victory vs the Knicks with Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving each being out of the lineup. Brooklyn had a scoring differential of +11 when Durant was on the floor but struggled when he was off, but he ultimately closed it out in the end.
It was a respectable effort from the Knicks’ top players as Julius Randle (26), Evan Fournier (25), and RJ Barrett (24) each combined for 75 points. Brooklyn shot just 6-29 (20.7%) from deep and that gave New York more of a chance, but regardless, Durant was just having an unbelievable performance.
While the Brooklyn Nets are looking to maximize their outlook for play-in positioning and managed to do so by getting the win in this matchup vs the New York Knicks. Kevin Durant will need to continue to carry this team at home while Kyrie Irving remains ineligible and Simmons is recovering.
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