Spencer Dinwiddie has responded to Kyrie Irving’s extended absence due to a right shoulder impingement by playing some of the best basketball of his NBA career.
On Sunday, Dinwiddie scored the most points he ever has against the New York Knicks, finishing with 30 points in the 103-101 win. The performance also extended his streak of 20-plus point games to five, which is the longest stretch of his playing career.
Dinwiddie has been Brooklyn’s best player since Irving went down, there are no two ways about it. And it hasn’t mattered how teams approach the point guard, he continues to be someone the Nets can rely on.
The Knicks approached Dinwiddie the same way Kenny Atkinson would’ve. He told reporters the fact Dinwiddie was still able to succeed despite New York’s game plan speaks volumes about the way he’s playing right now:
Difference maker, right now. Again, they were double-teaming him all night. Credit to [the Knicks], I would’ve done the same thing. And he did a good job of getting it out and then exploiting the mismatch. What he’s also doing, he’s doing it on both ends. He’s doing it on the defensive end. He’s playing really good basketball.