Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving hadn’t appeared in a game at Barclays Center since Game 2 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals until Sunday’s 119-110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Much of the focus was placed on Irving’s return to full-time player status in his home debut. He finished with 16 points, two rebounds, and 11 assists in 41 minutes of action.
With the Nets being on a back-to-back following Saturday’s 110-95 win over the Miami Heat, they did not arrive in New York until 3 a.m., as Irving mentioned. Even though he would have liked to have a day off before playing in this game, he is “grateful” just to have even received the chance to play.
“First I was trying to get enough sleep last night. Landing at 3 a.m. and not going to bed until 6, so I was just trying to ground myself as much as possible today and just prepare for the warm reception in front of a lot of supporters of the organization and me, just the journey thus far,” Irving said. “I don’t take it for granted what happened tonight. It was historic. I was grateful I had a chance to be out there with my brothers and just leave it all out there.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted. I didn’t shoot as well as I wanted. Basically, none of the things I had hoped would go well tonight just didn’t happen. That’s just the flow of basketball.
“Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, felt okay, but jus the jump shot wasn’t falling tonight and we weren’t hitting shots. Not the result we wanted, but definitely grateful that we were part of history tonight and I got to do it here.”
Irving was not satisfied with his performance given he shot 6-22 (27.3 percent) from the floor and 1-9 (11.1 percent) on 3s. He struggled to score with sufficient efficiency largely due to the poor results he achieved on his 3-point attempts.
“I think it impacted everybody. Shots that we usually make, plays that we usually make, we just weren’t at our standard tonight,” Irving said. “We take full accountability, I take full accountability, I mean 6-22, 40 minutes on a back-to-back, I think I could have made a bigger impact on the game.
“Just taking my time a little bit more and just let the game come to me. But definitely, when you’re out there and you hear the crowd reaction, you hear everything that’s going on, you try not to be a distraction, but it is what it is.”
While the outcome wasn’t what Irving sought, he is “grateful” that he and his teammates can move past the focus placed on his eligibility to play home games. However, he sees the outcome being positive “bigger than a basketball game.”
“I’m grateful we can move forward, but tonight my presence out there was bigger than a basketball game,” Irving said. “It represented a lot of individuals out there that are in a similar situation as me.”
The Nets return to action on Tuesday when they host the rebuilding Detroit Pistons. The attention will have shifted from Irving’s status for home games to the team needing to do what they can to maximize their positioning in the standings.
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