Kyrie Irving played Sunday’s game like he hadn’t missed the previous 26 contests.
The Brooklyn Nets point guard was the most efficient he’s ever been in his career (10-for-11 from the floor) and finished with 21 points in 20 minutes of action. Plus, his performance came in a winning effort, as the Nets knocked off the Atlanta Hawks 108-86.
Brooklyn has plenty to like about Irving’s production, but Kenny Atkinson was more focused on the way the point guard went about his work. Brooklyn’s head coach explained to reporters why he liked what he saw:
He was really efficient, obviously. What I liked that he … he didn’t force anything. He just kinda played like a pro. My fear was, being out so long, he’d try to really force things. … He was just in a perfect flow. Had a nice demeanor, nice rhythm about him. Normally when you come back after a long time, your rhythm’s off. You’re going to fast or too slow, you’re not in the right tempo — and he was in the right tempo, right place. And, I thought, defensively, he competed his tail off.
"He was in a perfect flow."
Head coach Kenny Atkinson on @KyrieIrving in his return tonight for Brooklyn.#NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/Htb5qHZNvQ
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) January 13, 2020
Brooklyn gets back to work on Tuesday when the Utah Jazz visit Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m.
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