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#Nets’ Kyrie Irving cleanses court, beats Celtics in return

#Nets’ Kyrie Irving cleanses court, beats Celtics in return

First, Kyrie Irving cleaned the court. Then, he and the Nets did Boston dirty.

Before the tip-off of Irving’s first game at TD Garden since his scrutinized departure from the Celtics, the star guard circled the court burning sage. It’s a spiritual ritual intended to cleanse a person or space, while promoting wisdom and healing.

Then Irving — who was injured for both of the Nets’ scheduled road trips to Boston last season — sure looked healthy in teaming with Kevin Durant to lead Brooklyn to a 113-89 preseason rout of the Celtics.

“That’s what he does. That’s his thing,” Durant said of the sage in an on-court TV interview. “We respect him and respect his methods.”

There were no salty Celtics fans to boo him, but he put on a show nonetheless.

“I just see Ky being Ky,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “He’s in his routine as he always is. He’s happy-go-lucky right now, he’s in a great space, playing great in practice and in the game. I don’t see him taking this anywhere else other than just a regular exhibition game to get his legs ready for the season.”

Irving’s legs looked ready. So did his jumper and the rest of his game. He had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 28:13, finishing a game-high plus-28. Durant added a game-high 25 points, six boards and three blocks in 27:29. The dominant duo helped the Nets to a 32-point lead after three, and sat the fourth.

The Nets — whose defense has been a topic of doubt — held Boston to 32.9-percent shooting, and 6-of-40 from 3-point range. They hit 15-of-32 from deep themselves, and with the season opener Tuesday against the Warriors — followed by a Christmas Day rematch in Boston — the Nets looked ready.

“The games are going to be more intense when the games matter, starting with this team next week,” Durant said of his old Golden State squad.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt there are obviously some really good teams in the East. They’re up there with anyone. And when you watch them play the other night, it’s very clear,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Kevin has been one of the great players of this generation, and Kyrie is super-special.

“You add on those two to a team that’s been in the playoffs the last two years, they’re super deep. I like their additions in the offseason … so, excellent team. You can tell. All you had to do is watch five minutes of the Washington game and you can tell this is an elite team that will be very, very good all year.”

That depth made them look good Friday, with Caris LeVert — who missed the preseason opener with a knee injury — debuting with 18 points off the bench. Joe Harris bounced back from a quiet game against the Wizards to score 14 points.

The Celtics and Irving had an ugly divorce after the 2018-19 campaign. When the Nets played in Boston on March 3, fans posted Irving’s picture around nearby streets portrayed as the Cowardly Lion, and chanted, “Where’s Kyrie? Where’s Kyrie?” The Aug. 5 meeting came in the NBA bubble. A shoulder impingement cost Irving both games — but he looked fine Friday.

“When you have a player the caliber of Kyrie’s talent, everything changes. The conference gets better, the division gets better, the team that that player’s on gets better,” Marcus Smart said. “We all know what Kyrie’s capable of at any given moment, he doesn’t care who’s in front of him.

Nets
Kyrie Irving drives around the defense.
AP

“They’ve got the confidence, they’re playing really good, they have some good players around those guys to help those guys out. To have those type of players in your team, in the conference in the league, it just only makes that league, that team, that conference so much better.”

The Nets took command early with a 19-4 run over a four minute span, spurred by their defense. They forced four turnovers to turn a tenuous 14-11 edge with 6:39 left in the first quarter into a 33-15 cushion that proved insurmountable.

Durant’s drive and dunk capped an 18-0 run to close the third and spot the Nets a 92-60 lead going into the fourth.

With Kemba Walker out, Jayson Tatum had 19 points and Jaylen Brown 16 for the Celtics. But the Tatum shot just 5-of-17 while Brown was a minus-21 going up against Durant.


The Nets claimed forward Paul Eboua off waivers.

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