During the NBA’s Monday night slate, Kyrie Irving had 26 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 121-104 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were without the services of LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the game.
With some good play from Brooklyn’s backup guards, Irving wasn’t as burdened as he had been in six straight games scoring 30 or more.
“It’s nothing but joy in my eyes when I see them get rewarded for the hard work they’ve put in,” Irving said. “It makes my job a lot easier.”
The Nets won their second straight game and are now 4-6 since Kevin Durant sprained a ligament in his right knee. Patty Mills and Cam Thomas each scored 21 points for the Nets. As a result of his sprained knee last season, they won just five games in 21 contests.
“I think from a big-picture standpoint we’ve just worked out how to navigate the ship, I guess,” Mills said, “and it definitely does feel a lot different than last year in that sense.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Brooklyn Nets & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Darvin Ham, the Lakers coach, said James was experiencing “really significant soreness” in his left foot and would be evaluated on Tuesday. As he sat at the end of the Lakers’ bench, James was just 117 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record.
Following a 20-game absence due to a right foot injury, Davis planned a day off, so he didn’t play both ends of a back-to-back.
The Lakers were led by Thomas Bryant, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Russell Westbrook, who had 17 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. Westbrook surpassed Gary Payton for 10th place on the career assists list, something he never imagined as a kid.
“In the NBA, I never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats,” Westbrook said, “and I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level and I don’t take any of it for granted.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Brooklyn Nets & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
In the third quarter, the Lakers gained a 60-58 lead after a 14-0 run. After Kyrie Irving started the Nets, the Lakers built a seven-point lead later in the period after Wenyen Gabriel scored nine straight Los Angeles points. Brooklyn recovered to close the period with a 10-0 spurt to take an 85-82 lead. As the Lakers cut the lead to two in the fourth, Mills and Thomas made consecutive 3-pointers, and Brooklyn went on to win by 14 points.
Despite missing 11 of their first 14 shots, the Lakers came within 58-46 after Brooklyn extended its lead to 19 points in the second quarter.
