Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving has made a living as being one of the more clutch players in the NBA. Most people are mesmerized by his slick handle and uncanny balance as he gets to wherever he wants to get to on the court.
Everybody remembers the shot that he hit as a Cleveland Cavalier in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals to help Cleveland come back from being down 3-1 to beat the Warriors. That was just a microcosm of how clutch Irving can be when the situation calls for it.
In an unlikely scenario, Wednesday at the Atlanta Hawks became the latest time that more was required of Irving. In the nail-biting 108-107 win over the undermanned Hawks, Irving scored 28 points, including 15 in the final period to help the Nets pull out the win.
One would have thought that Irving could have saved the fourth-quarter heroics for another night since the Hawks were missing Trae Young, Clint Capela, and De’Andre Hunter, but Atlanta played with enough heart and ability to make this a close game. Irving spoke postgame about what the fourth quarter means to him:
“It means a great deal knowing that we have trust to play our roles out there. Quarter to quarter, Jacque (Vaughn) has all the rotation so I think we all as teammates just want to be aggressive with our minutes out there. For me specifically, when that fourth quarter hits, it’s winning time. That’s all I really know and when I’m out there, with that group to start the fourth, I know K (Kevin Durant) is resting a little bit so I just gotta raise my aggression level and raise my efficiency up.”
Brooklyn’s next game is Saturday at the Charlotte Hornets.
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