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Nets

In recent years, Japan has started to solidify its place on the global basketball map. The steady ascent began with Rui Hachimura making waves as a lottery pick and has since been sustained by the lengthy presence of Yuta Watanabe in the NBA. But the next chapter in Japan's basketball story is being authored by two rising stars with very different paths in young stars Keisei Tominaga and Yuki Kawamura.
Each player represents a different style, personality, and journey, but their shared goal is clear: to make a name for themselves in the NBA while pushing Japanese basketball into its most promising era yet and a chance to dominate Asia for years to come. Together, they are leading the next wave of Japanese basketball, a movement that could define a golden era for the nation&rsquo;s hoops culture.
<h3>Keisei Tominaga: From Nebraska star to NBA dreamer</h3>
Nicknamed the &ldquo;Japanese Steph Curry,&rdquo; Keisei Tominaga became a sensation at the University of Nebraska with his deep range, fiery swagger, and clutch shooting. Whether it was a pull-up three in transition or a quick-trigger release from the corner, the crowd inside Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska always knew when the ball left his hands that it had a real chance of going in.
Though Tominaga went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, he quickly landed a spot on a G-League roster and continued to work toward his NBA dream. His shooting alone makes him a prospect worth watching, but his personality and work ethic make him even more compelling.
That electricity was on full display at the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Singapore. It was last September that I had the opportunity to interview Tominaga, where he drew thunderous applause every time he launched a three. His team had just wrapped up a game, and even though he wasn&rsquo;t entirely pleased with his performance, he still flashed that signature optimism and drive. There, I caught up with him to talk about the experience and his aspirations.
Q: Every time you shoot a three, fans are anticipating the ball coming in. You made a three and the arena went crazy. How was it like playing here in Singapore and with your fans in Asia and the love that they showed you out here? Tominaga: &ldquo;You know, it means a lot to me. You see, you hear the crowd when I make the shot. I&rsquo;m super happy for it but I gotta be better for everything. But you know it was a great, great experience for me.&rdquo;
Q: Obviously you&rsquo;ve struggled shooting the ball, but how would you rate your performance personally in this tournament? Tominaga: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I did a good job, you know, the way enough the way I wanted it to be. But I think that&rsquo;s a great experience for me, I could get better from it. You know, I could learn from it a lot. So, I&rsquo;m excited to keep going.&rdquo;
Q: After this tournament, what&rsquo;s next for Keisei Tominaga? Where will we see you play, any future plans? Tominaga: &ldquo;You know, I&rsquo;m trying to get into the league (NBA) so, you know I&rsquo;ll keep showing what I can do out there on the court and hopefully I can make it to the NBA soon.&rdquo;
Even during a down shooting performance, Tominaga&rsquo;s energy was palpable. His confidence in the long-term goal didn&rsquo;t waver. And why should it? With every deep three, every off-ball relocation, every step-back jumper, he proves he's not just a novelty act&mdash;he&rsquo;s a legitimate offensive weapon.
<h3>Yuki Kawamura: The gritty playmaker with a huge heart and growing fanbase</h3>
While Tominaga&rsquo;s game is built around flash and finesse, Yuki Kawamura's path is defined by toughness, hustle, and high basketball IQ. At just 5-foot-9, Kawamura has never been the biggest player on the court, but that&rsquo;s never stopped him from standing out.
Currently suiting up for the Memphis Hustle, the G-League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, Kawamura has carved out a role as an impactful guard who plays with heart on both ends. As of this writing, Kawamura is averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting an efficient 46.5% from the field and 38.2% from deep.
What makes Kawamura special isn&rsquo;t just the stats, it&rsquo;s about the impact. On multiple occasions, the Grizzlies have featured him in NBA games, and every time, the fan reaction has been electric. A behind-the-back dime in transition. A fearless drive into the paint against players a foot taller. A clutch corner three that sends social media into a frenzy. Kawamura is a fan favorite, not just in Japan, but globally.
The NBA itself has embraced Kawamura as part of its broader international movement. His highlights often get featured on NBA social media channels, and with every appearance, more fans begin to root for the undersized guard with a never-say-die mentality.
Now, Kawamura and the Grizzlies have qualified into the 2025 NBA Playoffs and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in round one, a feat that Kawamura is definitely proud to be a part of.
<h3>A shared dream and legacy in the making</h3>
Tominaga and Kawamura couldn&rsquo;t be more different on the court. One is a gunner who thrives on spacing and movement. The other is a floor general who thrives on angles and decision-making. But their journeys intertwine in a bigger narrative, one that could shape the next decade of Japanese basketball.
What Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe helped begin, Tominaga and Kawamura are set to continue. The duo&rsquo;s growth also coincides with the rise of Japan&rsquo;s national team, which made waves at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Having multiple Japanese players active in the G-League and flirting with NBA rosters is no longer an anomaly. It&rsquo;s becoming part of a trend, and that trend points to a possible golden era of hoops in Japan. The country is now poised to be one of the top contenders for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025, and Tominaga and Kawamura are leading the charge for the Akatsuki.
The significance of this moment can&rsquo;t be overstated. For decades, Japanese basketball lagged behind Asian neighbors like China and the Philippines in terms of global impact. Now, the script is changing, and these two young stars are helping flip the page.
<h3>&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;</h3>
Keisei Tominaga continues to chase his dream with a shooter&rsquo;s tunnel vision - focused, steady, and fueled by every made shot and every miss. His love for the game and his country is clear every time he hits the floor.
Yuki Kawamura, meanwhile, has proven that height may be a limitation on paper, but not in heart. He&rsquo;s already winning over teammates, coaches, and fans alike with his skill and spark.
While the road to becoming a full-time NBA player is steep for both, what they represent is already larger than the game. They are not only athletes but symbols of Japan&rsquo;s potential on the world basketball stage.
In the end, whether or not they make a permanent home in the NBA isn&rsquo;t the only story. The real victory lies in how they inspire a nation, empower a new generation, and redefine what&rsquo;s possible for Japanese basketball.

From Tominaga's three-point flair to Kawamura's fearless playmaking, both are knocking on the NBA and inspiring Japan.

Keisei Tominaga, Yuki Kawamura lead golden era of Japanese Basketball

The Phoenix Suns have acquired forwards Royce O&rsquo;Neale and David Roddy in a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania</a>.
Brooklyn sent O&rsquo;Neale to Phoenix for three second-round picks while Memphis ships Roddy to Phoenix for a pick swap. In return, the Grizzlies will get Yuta Watanabe from the Suns as well as three other minimum-salary players: Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin and Chimezie Metu.&nbsp;
The Suns retain assets after this three-team deal for O'Neale and Roddy -- including a second-rounder and pick swaps. Additionally, Phoenix now has two roster spots open to pursue additions on the buyout market.
O&rsquo;Neale and Roddy are two big wings who will fortify the Suns' playoff rotation. O&rsquo;Neale, 30, is averaging 7.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 49 games this season. Roddy, 22, is averaging 8.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 48 games this season.

The Suns have acquired forwards Royce O’Neale and David Roddy in a three-team trade with the Nets and Grizzlies.

Suns acquire Royce O’Neale, David Roddy in three-team trade

NBA free agency has died down and the 2023-24 NBA season is nearly three months away. This is why August is known as the dog days of the NBA calendar.
However, NBA fans will be able to watch some of their favorite players in action very soon, as the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow.
From Nov. 2021 through Feb. 2023, 80 countries battled for a spot in the World Cup but only 32 national teams qualified. There are a ton of NBA players participating, as Team USA has a talented young roster and they'll be facing stars such as Luka Doncic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lauri Markkanen and Rudy Gobert.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
WHEN IS IT?
World Cup games will be played Aug. 25 through Sept. 10. There have been a number of warm-up games in recent weeks, but the real action tips off tomorrow.
First Round (Group Phase): Aug. 25-30 Second Round (Group Phase): Aug. 31 - Sept. 4 Quarterfinals: Sept. 5-6 Semifinals: Sept. 8 Final: Sept. 10 Third-Place Game: Sept. 10
The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/fiba-basketball-world-cup-2023-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full schedule of games can be found here</a>.
WHERE IS IT?&nbsp;
For the first time ever, the FIBA Basketball World Cup will feature three host countries: the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
WHICH COUNTRIES QUALIFIED?
These are the 32 countries that will be participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, United States and Venezuela.
These are the groups for the first round:
Group A:&nbsp;Angola, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Italy
Group B:&nbsp;&nbsp;South Sudan, Serbia, China, Puerto Rico
(Groups A and B will play their games at Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines)
Group C:&nbsp;Team USA, Jordan, Greece, New Zealand
Group D:&nbsp;Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro, Lithuania
(Groups C and D will play their games at Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines)
Group E:&nbsp;Germany, Finland, Australia, Japan
Group F:&nbsp;Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Venezuela
(Groups E and F will play their games at Okinawa Arena in Japan)
Group G:&nbsp;Iran, Spain, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Brazil
Group H:&nbsp;Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France
(Groups G and H will play their games at Jakarta Arena in Indonesia)
WHICH NBA PLAYERS ARE COMPETING?
There are quite a few NBA players participating in this tournament. The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/fiba-world-cup-roster-tracker-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full list can be found here</a>, but below are the national teams that feature notable NBA players:
Group A
Dominican Republic: Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), Lester Quinones (Golden State Warriors)
Philippines: Jordan Clarkson&nbsp;(Utah Jazz)
Group B
China: Kyle Anderson&nbsp;(Minnesota Timberwolves)
Serbia: Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat)
Group C
Greece: Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
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United States: Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic), Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers), Josh Hart (New York Knicks), Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies), Cameron Johnson (Brooklyn Nets), Walker Kessler (Utah Jazz), Bobby Portis (Milwaukee Bucks), Austin Reaves (Los Angeles Lakers)

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Group D
Lithuania: Jonas Valanciunas (New Orleans Pelicans)
Montenegro: Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls)
Group E
Australia: Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder), Patty Mills (Atlanta Hawks), Matisse Thybulle (Portland Trail Blazers) Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks), Joe Ingles (Orlando Magic), Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans), Dante Exum (Dallas Mavericks), Jock Landale (Houston Rockets), Xavier Cooks (Washington Wizards)
Finland: Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)
Germany: Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Dennis Schroder (Toronto Raptors), Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), Daniel Theis (Indiana Pacers),&nbsp;
Japan: Yuta Watanabe (Phoenix Suns)
Group F
Georgia: Goga Bitadze (Orlando Magic), Sandro Mamukelashvili (San Antonio Spurs)
Slovenia: Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
Group G
Brazil: Raul Neto (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Spain: Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies), Usman Garuba (Atlanta Hawks)
Group H
Canada: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), R.J. Barrett (New York Knicks), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks)
France: Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves), Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), Frank Ntilikina (Charlotte Hornets)
Latvia: Davis Bertans (Oklahoma City Thunder)
HOW TO WATCH
FIBA recently announced that all 92 World Cup games will be available across ESPN's platforms. Six games will air on ESPN2 (including Team USA's three first-round games), while the other 86 games will be available on ESPN+.
FIBA&rsquo;s official streaming service, <a href="https://www.courtside1891.basketball/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Courtside 1891</a>, will also air the games live and on-demand. If you're interested in Courtside 1891, FIBA is offering our readers 20% off their World Cup bundle. Follow the instructions below if you'd like to use the 20% discount:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li><a href="https://www.courtside1891.basketball/choose-a-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click this link</a> and you&rsquo;ll get a prompt to register</li>
<li>You&rsquo;ll then be redirected to the choose-a-package page</li>
<li>Select the &lsquo;Max &ndash; World Cup Bundle&rsquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Use the discount code FIBAWCAK to get 20% off</li>
</ul>
Enjoy the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and hopefully the dog days of summer will fly by quickly!

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup tips off tomorrow. Here's everything you need to know about the tournament.

Everything you need to know about the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell had five 3-pointers and one sensational slam dunk among his 31 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers opened a big lead in the third quarter and held on for a 115-109 victory over Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.
Caris LeVert added 18 points for the Cavaliers in the opener of a two-game series. Cleveland led by only six after a competitive first half, but quickly blew it open in the third en route to its seventh win in nine games.
The Cavs opened a 24-point lead and Mitchell&rsquo;s slam over Yuta Watanabe came with the Nets desperately hoping to get back into it early in the fourth.
Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe had 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Nets, who lost their fourth straight game. Spencer Dinwiddie had 19 points and 11 assists, and Mikal Bridges scored 18 points.
The teams play again Thursday night to complete what could be a postseason preview.

The Cleveland Cavaliers opened a big lead in the third quarter and held on for a 115-109 victory over Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.

Donovan Mitchell scores 31 as Cavaliers top Nets 115-109

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to 15 games by beating the Brooklyn Nets 118-104 on Tuesday night.
Jrue Holiday had 14 points and eight assists for the Bucks, who went 10-0 in February and have passed the Boston Celtics for the best record in the NBA. They got Antetokounmpo back after he missed their victory over Phoenix on Sunday with a bruised right quadriceps.
Brook Lopez added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Khris Middleton had 18 points off the bench. Milwaukee held Brooklyn to 42 second-half points, dealing the Nets their third straight loss and seventh in their past nine games.
Mikal Bridges led Brooklyn with 31 points. Spencer Dinwiddie had 26 points and eight assists, and Cam Johnson added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Trailing by 10 at halftime, the Bucks outscored the Nets 66-42 in the second half, using a 14-4 third-quarter run to pull even at 68. Bridges answered Milwaukee&rsquo;s run with his own personal 10-0 spurt, but the Bucks outscored the Nets 39-23 in the third, including 18-7 over the final 5:04 after Antetokounmpo went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul.
Then the Bucks, who rank No. 1 in the NBA in defensive rating and fourth in the league in by allowing 111.2 points per game, turned up the defense in the fourth. Brooklyn was just 7 of 23 in the fourth, missing nine straight over a span of 4:23.
Brooklyn was aggressive against Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee offense early, forcing seven first-quarter turnovers and 12 in the first half. Antetokounmpo had the same number of field goals and turnovers in the first quarter (2), and the Nets turned that defense into offense, using a 17-2 run to build a 15-point advantage.
Bridges had 18 points, Johnson had 15 and six rebounds and Dinwiddie scored 13 and had six assists in the first half, helping Brooklyn take a 62-52 lead at halftime.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Made just 4 of 12 free throws (33.3%). &hellip; Milwaukee&rsquo;s win streak is the longest in the NBA this season and the fourth-longest in team history. Brooklyn has the second-longest win streak this season (12, Dec. 7-Jan. 2).
Nets: Forward Ben Simmons (left knee soreness) missed his third straight game, and guard Edmond Sumner (personal) and forward Yuta Watanabe (back tightness) were also unavailable.
UP NEXT 
Milwaukee: Host Orlando on Wednesday
Brooklyn: At Knicks on Wednesday

The Bucks extended their winning streak to 15 games by beating the Nets 118-104 on Tuesday night.

Giannis returns, Bucks beat Nets 118-104 for 15th straight win

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 points in his first game since returning to Brooklyn and the Nets beat the Chicago Bulls 116-105 on Thursday night, hours after trading superstar Kevin Durant to Phoenix.
Joe Harris had 18 points, and Yuta Watanabe chipped in 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Dorian Finney-Smith, who came with Dinwiddie from Dallas in the trade for Kyrie Irving, had nine points and nine rebounds in his Nets debut.
&ldquo;We just found a way,&rdquo; Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. &ldquo;No panic from our guys. I thought we did a really good job of focusing on the game plan. It&rsquo;s great to see us really lock in, especially at the end of the game.&rdquo;
It was Dinwiddie&rsquo;s first game in a Nets uniform since Dec. 27, 2020. He spent five seasons with the team and returned with 18 points in the second half.
&ldquo;The entire last four or five days have been weird for me,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;If I was going to revisit a spot, out of the three I&rsquo;ve been at, it would definitely be here, unequivocally.&rdquo;
Zach LaVine scored 38 points and DeMar DeRozan had 14 for Chicago, which lost its second straight and fell to 10-18 on the road.
&ldquo;Every single day that goes by we have less opportunity to take on this challenge,&rdquo; DeRozan said. &ldquo;The room for error is getting slimmer and slimmer. It&rsquo;s on us to realize it.&rsquo;&rsquo;
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The Durant trade was agreed to in the early hours of the morning Thursday then announced shortly before tipoff. Brooklyn traded Durant and forward T.J. Warren for Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder &mdash; who was subsequently flipped to Milwaukee for two second-round selections &mdash; and four first-rounders (2023, 2025, 2027, 2029) plus a pick swap in 2028.
Durant, a 13-time All-Star who was slated to represent the Nets at the upcoming All-Star Game in Utah, averaged 29 points per game over 129 games for Brooklyn, but missed time in each of his four seasons with the Nets. His trade followed that of Irving on Sunday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to sugarcoat it, it&rsquo;s always difficult when you&rsquo;re trading a player of that stature and that ilk,&rdquo; Nets general manager Sean Marks said. &ldquo;My job as GM and our job as a front office is to try and bring in that caliber of talent. So those decisions are not easy, they come with a lot of thought, a lot of process on systemic debriefs and discussions that go along with that.&rdquo;
Playing short-handed and in danger of losing more ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Nets snapped a two-game skid with a 20-6 fourth-quarter run, keyed by Dinwiddie and Watanabe. Dinwiddie scored 13 in the fourth and Watanabe hit a pair of 3s.
Brooklyn, which is 29th in the NBA in rebounds per game, also outrebounded Chicago 49-46, winning the rebounding battle for the first time in 16 games.
&ldquo;We only gave up 21 points in the fourth, and that was with ((Watanabe) on the floor finishing for us,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;I think we saw the versatility and size come into play tonight where we didn&rsquo;t get destroyed rebounding-wise and shot-discrepancy.&rdquo;
Brooklyn looked sluggish from the outset, shooting just 28.6% from the field in the first quarter, and Chicago capitalized. LaVine scored 12 in the first quarter, and the Bulls used a 16-2 run to build a 13-point advantage early in the second.
But the Nets heated up from the outside, making 8 of 12 3-pointers, led by Harris&rsquo; six in the second. Brooklyn led by as many as seven and took a 53-50 advantage into halftime.
&ldquo;I think everybody kind of was trying to figure out each other and how we were going to be playing,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;Once that started and the rhythm got there and everybody was able to kind of settle in, we started playing really well and played really well together.&rdquo;
Brooklyn built an 11-point advantage early in the third. But Chicago scored 30 of the quarter&rsquo;s final 44 points, keyed by LaVine&rsquo;s 14 in the frame.
TIP-INS
Bulls: The Bulls were one of just two teams that did not make a trade before Thursday&rsquo;s 3 p.m. EST deadline. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s us vs. everybody,&rdquo; LaVine said after the game. &hellip; DeRozan (right-hip soreness) returned after missing Chicago&rsquo;s game in Memphis on Tuesday.
Nets: Bridges and Johnson were on the Brooklyn bench but didn&rsquo;t dress due to the trade&rsquo;s late announcement. It was Bridges&rsquo; first missed game since high school. &hellip; Cam Thomas, who scored 134 points over Brooklyn&rsquo;s previous three games, had his streak of three straight 40-point games snapped. He finished with 20 points. &hellip; Center Nic Claxton missed the game, his fourth of the season, with a hamstring injury.
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Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 points in his first game since returning to Brooklyn and the Nets beat the Chicago Bulls 116-105.

Dinwiddie has 25 in Brooklyn return, Nets beat Bulls 116-105

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Deandre Ayton matched his career high with 35 points, Devin Booker scored 19 in his first game since Christmas and the Phoenix Suns held off Cam Thomas and the Brooklyn Nets 116-112 on Tuesday night.
The 21-year-old Thomas led a late charge and finished with 43 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history with three straight 40-point games. He had 44 and a career-high 47 points in his previous two games.
Mikal Bridges had 17 of his 21 points in the second half and played a key role in the defensive effort that cooled off Thomas just long enough for the Suns to build a 12-point lead with 2:25 remaining.
Booker missed the previous 21 games with a strained left groin. but had a strong stretch after the Suns led by just three midway through the fourth quarter. He scored six points and set up Ayton for another basket during a 13-4 run that pushed it to 109-97 with 2:25 to go.
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Thomas rallied the Nets mostly from the free-throw line, and his intentional miss with 4.1 seconds remaining left the Suns with a 114-112 lead. He then fouled Ayton, who finished it off with two free throws after going 14 for 18 from the field and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Nic Claxton and T.J. Warren had 17 points each for the Nets, who lost on back-to-back nights after trading Kyrie Irving and fell to 5-9 without the injured Kevin Durant. They opted not to play Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, the players they acquired from Dallas in the trade for Irving.
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TIP-INS
Suns: Chris Paul surpassed 2,500 steals, a mark reached by only John Stockton, Jason Kidd and Michael Jordan. He had nine points and 12 assists.
Nets: Brooklyn was also without Seth Curry (left adductor strain) and Yuta Watanabe (back tightness). ... Coach Jacque Vaughn said Durant continues to progress well in his recovery but still hasn&rsquo;t been involved in the any portions of practice where there is contact. Vaughn said he didn&rsquo;t know when Durant would take that step, and he won&rsquo;t play before he does. The Nets only have four games remaining before the All-Star break.
DINWIDDIE AND DORIAN
Dinwiddie spent five seasons with the Nets and recalled when he signed a multiyear deal in December 2016 after coming into the league as a second-round pick who battled to prove he was more than a G League player.
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&ldquo;My career&rsquo;s been hard, and that right there kind of solidified knowing, like, my family&rsquo;s going to be fine,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said.
He said there was nostalgia being back in Brooklyn, where he averaged a career-best 20.6 points in 2019-20, and praised Finney-Smith&rsquo;s ability to be an important contributor to the team.
&ldquo;Understanding that we may not be the best trade package, but we are the best-looking and the Nets needed some help in that department,&rdquo; he joked.
ANOTHER TRADE
The Nets dealt forward Kessler Edwards to Sacramento for the rights to 2016 second-round pick David Michineau and cash. Edwards began last season on a two-way deal before playing well enough to earn a standard NBA contract, but had appeared in just 14 games this season.
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Deandre Ayton scored 35 points, Devin Booker added 19 in his return and the Phoenix Suns beat the Brooklyn Nets 116-112.

Ayton has 35, Suns hold off Thomas, Nets in Booker’s return

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Cam Thomas scored a career-high 44 points off the bench and the short-handed Brooklyn Nets rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Washington Wizards 125-123 on Saturday night.
Edmond Sumner also set a personal best with 29 points and Nic Claxton had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, who had their largest comeback win of the season and swept the regular-season series against the Wizards. Patty Mills added 13 points and Royce O&rsquo;Neale had 10 for the Nets, who trailed 44-21 late in the first quarter.
The victory came despite Brooklyn being without Kyrie Irving, who was out with what the team said was right calf soreness &mdash; a day after he told the Nets he wants to be traded.
The Nets, who also played without Kevin Durant (right knee MCL sprain), T.J. Warren (left shin contusion) and Ben Simmons (left knee soreness), also lost Seth Curry (left adductor) and Markieff Morris (sore left knee) in the game.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 38 points before fouling out. Deni Avdija finished with 23 points, Monte Morris added 18 and Corey Kispert had 15 as Washington lost its second in a row.
Entering the fourth quarter, Washington was clinging to a 99-92 lead but Mills, Thomas, and Yuta Watanabe scored eight points to help Brooklyn close to 102-100. Porzingis replied with a 14-footer and two free throws to extend the Wizards&rsquo; lead to 106-101.
It didn&rsquo;t last long.
Mills and Sumner made baskets to cut it to 106-105, but Porzingis&rsquo; three-point play pushed the lead back to four. Thomas converted a layup and a two-handed dunk on Brooklyn&rsquo;s next two possessions to tie it at 109-109.
After Washington took a 110-109 lead on a free throw by Porzingis, Brooklyn went ahead for the first time in the game on Thomas&rsquo; 3-pointer with 5:46 left. Porzingis knocked down two free throws to tie it again.
With the Nets ahead 120-119, Morris gave the Wizards the lead again on a pair of free throws. But Thomas made a jumper, Morris had a pull-up jumper and Thomas made a layup and then a free throw after Daniel Gafford was called for goaltending and Avdija whistled for a foul &mdash; giving Brooklyn a 125-123 lead.
Washington had a chance to tie when Thomas was called for a foul, but Morris missed both foul shots and the Nets got the rebound and ran out the clock.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said before the game Bradley Beal was out with &ldquo;left foot soreness.&rdquo; At some point during the Wizards&rsquo; 124-116 loss to Portland on Friday night, Beal landed on Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons&rsquo; foot. &ldquo;He was able to get through, (but) you could tell there were some moments throughout the third or fourth quarter when he just didn&rsquo;t move correctly,&rdquo; Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;So he&rsquo;ll get re-evaluated this afternoon, this evening and tomorrow.&rdquo; Beal, in his 10th season, is averaging 22.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
Nets: Much of coach Jacque Vaughn&rsquo;s pregame availability was spent discussing Irving&rsquo;s trade demand, which became public Friday afternoon. The Nets entered the game third in the Atlantic Division, fourth in the Eastern Conference, and sixth overall in the NBA. &ldquo;I think you make this as simple as possible,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;With the group, you&rsquo;re extremely honest with these guys. ... So I think that&rsquo;s the approach with this group: focus on today. That doesn&rsquo;t change. We&rsquo;ve been really good at just locking in and doing our jobs.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Cleveland on Monday night.
Nets: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.

Cam Thomas scored a career-high 44 points off the bench and the Nets rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Wizards 125-123.

Cam Thomas helps Nets rally from 23 down to beat Wizards 125-123

With the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; win at Miami on Sunday, they have won a franchise record 18 of their last 20 games, which represents the best 20-game stretch at any point in a season in the organization's history.
Kyrie Irving is leading the Eastern Conference guards in All-Star voting, and Kevin Durant is having an MVP-level season, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.
But unfortunately, last night, Durant had to exit the game in the third quarter after Jimmy Butler fell into Durant. On Monday morning, the Nets announced that he was diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of the right knee and that he'll be out for at least the next two weeks before being reevaluated. It's devastating news for Nets fans, as the team has been taking the league by storm for the past 20 games.&nbsp;
To discuss Durant's injury, Irving's strong play and more, I sat down with Nets great and Basketball News contributor Kenyon Martin to discuss his former team.&nbsp;
Etan Thomas: The Nets are on a great run. They&rsquo;ve been proving a lot of people who had completely written them off wrong. How do you think they&rsquo;re playing overall right now?&nbsp;
Kenyon Martin: "I think they&rsquo;ve been playing great. Once you get your two stars on the same page in KD and Kyrie &mdash; and they&rsquo;re playing off each other and going to each other when the other one is hot and they&rsquo;re healthy &mdash; they are a tough team to beat. I saw KD went down last night and I&rsquo;m hearing he may be out for a few weeks, which definitely hurts, but he&rsquo;ll bounce back. They&rsquo;ll just have to hold down the fort until he gets back, and when he returns, they&rsquo;ll take off again just like they did when Kyrie returned.
"And Kyrie is playing as free as I&rsquo;ve seen him since he was with Cleveland in the Finals. It's like he&rsquo;s playing with no pressure and nothing holding him back from being one of the top guards in the league. And the team is benefiting from that relief."
Etan: Let me ask you this, because I think Jacque Vaughn has done an excellent job since he&rsquo;s taken over, and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s being talked about as much as it should be. No knock on Steve Nash because I don&rsquo;t know the ins and outs of why it wasn&rsquo;t working with him, but there is definitely a visible difference. Would you agree?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Let&rsquo;s be honest, E &mdash; Steve Nash is a hell of a basketball player and had great athletes around him. I&rsquo;ve never thought of Steve Nash as a vocal guy, never thought of him as that kind of a leader. I&rsquo;ve never heard him get after anybody. I&rsquo;ve never heard him put anybody in their place or call anybody out or chastise anyone who needed to be chastised. I just heard of him as a nice guy who is a great pass-first point guard who guys really enjoyed playing with. That&rsquo;s not to say that he couldn&rsquo;t have done a good job coaching; I just think it was a little premature to put him in that position.
"Jacque Vaughn, on the other hand, has proven that he could be a head coach down in Orlando. He just got a bad deal. But he showed that he could do all of the things that a head coach needs to do in order to be successful in this league. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest with guys, to call guys out or to challenge guys, but still not turn into the enemy. But (he'll) be like, 'We&rsquo;re in this together, but this is how we have to do things.' He wasn&rsquo;t a two-time NBA MVP, he wasn&rsquo;t an All-Star year-in and year-out, but he commanded a respect from the jump."
Etan: That&rsquo;s very true. One person who has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-nic-claxton-approach-reaping-rewards-with-surging-brooklyn-nets-kevin-durant-jacque-vaughn-kyrie-irving-royce-oneale-georgia-bulldogs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">really stood out this season is Nic Claxton</a>. He won&rsquo;t get the praise that KD and Kyrie get of course, but he has been doing a tremendous job and is really vital to this team.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;ve been a big fan of his since he got to the Nets. I love the energy he plays with, his effort, his motor, his athleticism, his defense, (he's a) rim protector. And when you have a guy who is surrounded by superstars, understands and embraces his role, and plays it to the best of his ability, the team is going to be successful, and that&rsquo;s what he does night-in and night-out."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"He&rsquo;s a big piece for us and we need him every night." Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Jacque Vaughn reflect on Nic Claxton's impact on the Nets and his development into an everyday starting center. STORY: <a href="https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT">https://t.co/U1odBzLCHT</a> <a href="https://t.co/v4Meeb8B7V">pic.twitter.com/v4Meeb8B7V</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1607867619347931137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Etan: I always admit I do have big-man bias, and I know the game has transitioned into a more of a guards game &mdash; more people play small ball &mdash; but I&rsquo;m surprised players like Dwight Howard and (DeMarcus) Boogie Cousins aren&rsquo;t in the league right now. But specifically with the Nets, couldn&rsquo;t they use them? Especially in the playoffs when they have to face Milwaukee or Boston, or Philly with Joel Embiid and Montrezl Harrell off the bench?
Kenyon: "I&rsquo;m a big fan of both of those guys and their entire body of work. The way Boogie has adjusted his game and what people have thought of him over the years, he&rsquo;s channeled the energy that people were saying was negative into his game and on-court passion, tenacity and physicality that every team needs.&nbsp;
"And what Dwight brings to the table is similar to what we were talking about before with Nic Claxton. He knows his role and does it to the best of his ability. Shot-blocker, rebounder, physical play, athletic, rim-protector, and we all know he&rsquo;s strong as hell. Why wouldn&rsquo;t you want someone like that on your team? (Think about) what the Lakers got out of the combination of him and JaVale (McGee) a couple of years ago."
Etan: Uh huh, when they won the championship.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Yup, I just think more teams should follow that. If you don&rsquo;t have a dominant Joel Embiid or a dominant (Nikola) Jokic, you need to play by committee at that position. And I think what a lot of teams are missing is exactly that. I think either one of them could be that missing piece for a lot of teams. But yes, specifically for the Nets this season."
Etan: I even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-los-angeles-lakers-anthony-davis-etan-thomas-injury-achilles-recovery-heal-patient-robert-griffin-III-rgIII-frank-vogel-lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about it</a>. I was surprised, going back to JaVale and Dwight, that the Lakers didn&rsquo;t keep them. I&rsquo;m not a GM, but If it ain&rsquo;t broke and just won you a championship, don&rsquo;t fix it, right?
Kenyon: "Who&rsquo;d they get, Marc Gasol?"
Etan: Yeah, that&rsquo;s who they got.
Kenyon: "Yeah I just have a problem with the league as a whole when you have guys that have proven what they can bring to the table, talking about Dwight and Boogie Cousins. It makes no sense for them not to be on an NBA roster right now."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Another player I&rsquo;ve really been impressed with is Royce O'Neale. I don&rsquo;t know if people were expecting him to play as well as he&rsquo;s been playing this season. Was he a pleasant surprise for you or did you foresee that?
Kenyon: "Honestly, I thought it was a little weird of a trade at first because of the position that he plays. But you can never have enough guys that you can count on. I think Royce is a solid pro. He&rsquo;s proven that he can be successful in this league and you can count on him. And here&rsquo;s the thing &mdash; when players are surrounded by greatness and a role is asked of you, it should be easy for you to fill that role. You know what I mean? It shouldn&rsquo;t be a hard thing for professionals to do. People can really find success on good teams by simply doing what&rsquo;s asked of you."
Etan: (Laughing) Doesn&rsquo;t seem like a hard concept.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "Shouldn&rsquo;t be hard at all."
Etan: It&rsquo;s interesting with Kyrie, because really just a few weeks ago &mdash; after the entire fiasco when he shared the documentary "From Hebrews To Negroes," got suspended, had backlash, was assigned six steps to return and everything that transpired after that &mdash; there was this loud uproar among the media and fans on social media proclaiming definitively that the Nets would be better off without Kyrie Irving, and even that he may be out the league soon.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "How crazy is that?"
Etan: It&rsquo;s crazy, but that was the overall sentiment, especially from a lot of the media for a while. So he comes back and they are playing great. They go on a 5-0 winning run and Kyrie is averaging 30, then a 10-0 run, then a 14-1 run. Now, they&rsquo;ve won 18 of 20 games, setting a franchise record. Kyrie&rsquo;s hitting game-winners and shining, and you've seen all of those people just get quiet. None of those people have offered any retraction to their previously loud statements. They just act like they weren&rsquo;t just saying the Nets were better off without him. And I&rsquo;m just like, keep that same energy you had to demonize someone to also praise them when they are doing well.
Kenyon: "But the key word in what you just said is the media. Who cares what the media says? I took all that criticism and uproar and outrage the media had as all performative. They were just putting on a show and jumping on a bandwagon, which many of them get paid to do. I didn&rsquo;t buy into any of that. It&rsquo;s not like he wrote the book or made the doc. He said he didn&rsquo;t agree with all of it and was sharing it for the information. But if those media people who were saying the Nets were better off without Kyrie don&rsquo;t know how special of a player he is &mdash; aside from the documentary and whatever else &mdash; then they don&rsquo;t need to be writing or commenting on anything.
"It&rsquo;s like a fumble in football. Everybody in the media, fans (and) social media started jumping on top of the dog pile, and Kyrie emerged from the bottom of the pile carrying the football and holding it high in the air for everyone to see. The backlash didn&rsquo;t break him. The team still needs Kyrie Irving. They wouldn&rsquo;t be where they are without him. And if anybody thought the Nets didn&rsquo;t need him, they just don&rsquo;t know the game."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyrie Irving scored 29 PTS &amp; the Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> <a href="https://t.co/6SobtaV7MI">pic.twitter.com/6SobtaV7MI</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1612422254607958016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Etan: I hear you, but the piling on just bothered me. I was like... y&rsquo;all are making him out to be Hitler himself. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dns9B0ypwk0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specifically said</a>, like you mentioned earlier, "I don&rsquo;t agree with everything in this documentary, I&rsquo;m sharing it for the information, I don&rsquo;t hate anyone, I respect all religions." And they wanted to make him Public Enemy No. 1. and the face of antisemitism.
Kenyon: "Yeah, that&rsquo;s exactly what they tried to do, but it didn&rsquo;t work because that&rsquo;s not who he is and (he) has never been that. You can&rsquo;t make someone be something they&rsquo;re not, and that&rsquo;s not who he is."
Etan: But what was really bothering me is that I was seeing a lot of media people who look like me and you literally running to jump on that bandwagon and bashing him the most. That really bothered me.
Kenyon: "One-thousand percent. That bothered me as well seeing that because that&rsquo;s not the way it&rsquo;s supposed to be. And we&rsquo;re talking about Black media who are in high positions."
Etan: Yes, the ones you see if you turn on ESPN or FOX Sports or HBO Sports or the main Black sports journalists. And I don&rsquo;t have to single anyone out in particular because they all were doing that. It was really disappointing to see.
Kenyon: "For them to do that... I know you don&rsquo;t want to call names and I&rsquo;ll respect your platform, but some of them are some high paid."
Etan: Don&rsquo;t even say it.
Kenyon: (Laughing) "I won&rsquo;t say it but you know what I&rsquo;m thinking." (laughing)
Etan: (Laughing) Yes I do.
Kenyon: "And the guy you expected to join the piling on actually took up for Kyrie &mdash; talking about Jason Whitlock."
Etan: Him and Candace Owens did. How crazy is that? It was like we were in the Twilight Zone.
Kenyon: "They usually can&rsquo;t wait to say something negative about a Black athlete, or a Black person or the entire Black community."
Etan: They made an entire career out of it.
Kenyon: "Absolutely, and they are where they are because of that."
Etan: One-hundred percent.
Kenyon: "So yeah, I&rsquo;m with you, it was definitely disappointing to see the piling on from Black media people in particular on the platforms they have and not one guy said something even remotely in this man&rsquo;s corner. They were calling for his career."
Etan: And very loudly too. Jay Williams did say something, so shout out to him.
Kenyon: "Yeah that&rsquo;s right he did, but he was the only one, at least that I saw. But let me say this &mdash; you&rsquo;ve done a great job in providing perspective on this whole topic. I&rsquo;ve been following everything you posted. The interview with your guy from your show (Dave Zirin), you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-60-rabbi-harry-rozenberg-on-antisemitism,-kyrie-irving-s-suspension,-nets-6-steps-to-return,-adl,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sat down with a Rabbi</a>, you had the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-61-former-nba-players-craig-hodges-and-mahmoud-abdul-rauf-discuss-the-kyrie-irving-backlash,-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convo with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Craig Hodges</a>. Even how you <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nike-employs-adl-tactics-as-they-officially-drop-kyrie-irving-etan-thomas-torraine-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote about Nike after they dropped him</a>.
"That&rsquo;s why what you do is important, for that very reason of what we saw all the other media do with the piling on and one-sided bashing. You actually had discussions about it."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Etan: Thanks. Well, shout out to Basketball News for giving me the flexibility to cover different aspects of this topic in different ways. Most platforms wouldn&rsquo;t have allowed that. They would&rsquo;ve shut all that down.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "Censorship is crazy. Not even to have a discussion?"
Etan: Sometimes, media platforms want you to follow a script and you have to stick to the talking points. And with this, the script was: Bash Kyrie, label him antisemitic, denounce, condemn and bash some more.&nbsp;
Kenyon: "That&rsquo;s just wrong, but I&rsquo;m happy that Kyrie can put all of that behind him and the team&rsquo;s playing well, and he&rsquo;s rolling and being the Kyrie we all know him to be on the court. And you have to give a shout out to his teammates, who also didn&rsquo;t buy into all of the bashing and the talk of them being better without Kyrie. Because if you saw, they were trying to get them to co-sign that, but none of them did. They didn&rsquo;t say a bad word about Kyrie, and that&rsquo;s also a reason why they are playing so well right now. Because that kind of stuff can ruin the entire chemistry of a team if you let the outside noise seep into the locker room."
Etan: That&rsquo;s a great point. Last question: The Nets are playing really well, clicking on all cylinders and they have a rhythm with each other. They also have so many weapons we didn&rsquo;t even talk about like Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Ben Simmons, Yuta Watanabe and TJ Warren. How well can the Nets do this season?&nbsp;
Kenyon: "I would like to see them go out and get another big because you might have to play Philly. I love Nic Claxton, but dealing with Embiid by yourself for a whole playoff series is a lot to ask. But other than that, they have enough shooting, enough playmakers &mdash; they have a solid shot, they are definitely a contender. (It's about) learning how to win now, and win consistently like they have been doing &mdash; close games, ugly games, games where your main people are off because everything isn&rsquo;t going to be clicking every game. But still finding ways to win consistently, they are really preparing themselves for a very good playoff season."

Etan Thomas speaks with Kenyon Martin about the Nets' surge, Kevin Durant's latest knee injury and Kyrie Irving's recent play.

Kenyon Martin talks Nets, Kevin Durant's injury, Kyrie Irving backlash

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams each scored 22 points, and the Chicago Bulls stopped Brooklyn's 12-game win streak with a 121-112 victory over Kevin Durant and the Nets on Wednesday night.
Durant scored 44 points, but Chicago had six players score in double figures. Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmo finished with 17 points. The Bulls had dropped two in a row.
&ldquo;They came to play,&rdquo; Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. &ldquo;They were pretty desperate to get a win, and we needed that same desperation.&rdquo;
Durant rested at the beginning of the fourth quarter and Chicago put together an 8-0 run. Dosunmu stole a pass at midcourt and went in for the jam for a 106-95 lead with 6:46 left.
&ldquo;Ayo brought it defensively,&rdquo; Bulls guard Zach LaVine said. &ldquo;Bring the energy, getting steals, getting blocks.&rdquo;
Williams and DeRozan each hit two foul shots in the final minute to help close it out.
Durant scored a season-high 28 points in the first half, but Brooklyn trailed 69-59 at the break. He went 15 for 22 from the field for the game, finishing one point shy of his season high against Orlando on Nov. 28.
The Bulls, playing without reserve Javonte Green, lost another key guard when Alex Caruso sprained his right ankle with 3:11 left in the first quarter. Caruso missed three games earlier this season due to a concussion and shoulder sprain.
LaVine scored 13 points for Chicago, and Coby White finished with 10.
&ldquo;Their top two guys (DeRozan and LaVine) were 12 for 31 for 35 points," Durant said. &ldquo;We can live with that. But Pat Williams made some shots and easy rolls to the rim. Ayo is playing great this year and put pressure on the rim."
Kyrie Irving scored 25 points for Brooklyn, and Seth Curry had 22. Irving went 1 for 8 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We could not get over the hump, and a big part of it was that we were playing catchup,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;A 40-point first quarter (by Chicago) set the tone. A little uncharacteristic by our group.&rdquo;
Nets forward Yuta Watanabe, who entered the game leading the league with a 52.1 3-point percentage, played only six minutes because of foul trouble and scored one point.
TIP-INS
Nets: Vaughn shared a text message he received from a friend following his selection as the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December. &ldquo;'What's so special about a turtle sitting on top of a fence post? He didn't get there on his own.' So I'm very smart to know that award is the performance of the team, the coaching staff, at the end of the day it was the players,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
Bulls: Coach Billy Donovan stressed that LaVine has been an option on several last-second plays that have went to DeRozan. &ldquo;I totally trust Zach, and I have no problem with Zach with the ball in his hands and no problem with Zach shooting the ball at the end of games,&rdquo; Donovan said. &ldquo;But I think everyone would agree with what DeMar has done at the end of games has been very powerful.&rdquo; ... Green (right knee soreness) was placed in a treatment program to determine the extent of his injury with hopes of him returning soon, Donovan said.
&nbsp;

DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams each scored 22 points, and the Bulls stopped the Nets' 12-game win streak with a 121-112 win.

Durant scores 44, but Bulls snap Nets' 12-game win streak

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving made his first seven shots, sparked a big bench celebration with a one-handed follow slam after he finally missed and scored 27 points as the Brooklyn Nets beat the San Antonio Spurs 139-103 on Monday night for their 12th straight victory.
Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists for the Nets (25-12), who have ridden the longest winning in the NBA this season to within a game of Boston for the best record in the league. Brooklyn has won 16 of its last 17 games.
Irving shot 11 for 14, Durant was 10 for 14 and neither played in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who are 23-7 under Jacque Vaughn. T.J. Warren finished with 18 points and Brooklyn shot 62% from the field.
The Nets never trailed for the second straight game in an easy start to the new year after going 12-1 in December. They are two wins shy of matching the franchise's longest winning streak, having won 14 in a row twice while based in New Jersey.
Keldon Johnson scored 22 points for the Spurs.
Irving was 6 for 6 in the first quarter, with three 3-pointers, for 15 points and the Nets shot 64% in opening a 37-25 lead.
He finally missed on a 3-pointer in front of the Brooklyn bench but had teammates rushing off the sideline moments later screaming and celebrating when he streaked into the lane after Yuta Watanabe's missed jumper and slammed it down for a 46-27 lead.
Brooklyn led 74-47 at halftime and surpassed 100 points in three quarters for the second time this season, both in the last six games.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Coach Gregg Popovich said he walked about 80 blocks in New York on Monday, eating Italian, Turkish and Lebanese food. Popovich noted that he'll be able to fit in plenty more on this trip, with the Spurs off Tuesday before facing the Knicks on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, near their team hotel. ... The Spurs have lost six straight to the Nets.
Nets: The Nets were without Royce O'Neale and Markieff Morris because of illnesses not related to COVID-19. ... Joe Harris scored eight points after missing four games due to left knee soreness. ... The Nets congratulated Durant during the game for recently moving into 15th place on the NBA's career scoring list. He passed Tim Duncan, the Spurs' five-time champion. Soccer starts Kylian Mbapp&eacute; and Achraf Hakimi were at the game, with Mbapp&eacute; getting a thunderous ovation when shown after the third quarter.
&nbsp;

Kyrie Irving made his first seven shots on his way to 27 points as the Brooklyn Nets beat the San Antonio Spurs 139-103.

Irving, Nets roll past Spurs 139-103 for 12th straight win

CHARLOTTE. N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half, Kevin Durant added 23 points and the Brooklyn Nets ran their winning streak to 11, beating the Charlotte Hornets 123-106 on Saturday night.
Brooklyn never trailed and led by 10 points in the first quarter, 15 in the second, 18 in the third and 22 in the fourth to improve to 24-12.
Royce O&rsquo;Neale and Nic Claxton added 14 points apiece for Brooklyn, Yuta Watanabe had 11 and T.J. Warren 10.
LaMelo Ball had 23 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists for Charlotte. Mason Plumlee added 22 points. The Hornets dropped to 10-27.
After Charlotte cut it to 71-65 early in the third quarter, Irving and Durant combined to score 11 of the Nets&rsquo; next 13 points and sparked Brooklyn&rsquo;s 28-14 surge for a 97-79 lead entering the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Nets: Guard/forward Joe Harris missed his fourth straight game Saturday because of soreness in his left knee.
Hornets: Charlotte coach Steve Clifford had no timetable for Kelly Oubre Jr. to return to his lineup. Oubre missed his second game out of three Saturday with a sprained left hand.
&nbsp;

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, Kevin Durant added 23 and the Nets ran their winning streak to 11, beating the Hornets 123-106.

Irving and Durant lead Nets past Hornets for 11th win a row

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant had 26 points and a season-high 16 rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets won their 10th straight game, 108-107 over the short-handed Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
The winning streak is the longest in the NBA this season and the Nets&rsquo; longest since they took 10 in a row in 2005-06. The 2002-03 team also won 10 straight. The franchise record is 14, set in 2003-04 and matched in 2005-06.
Brooklyn (23-12) has won 14 of 15.
&ldquo;For me specifically, when the fourth quarter hits, it's winning time," Irving said. &ldquo;That's all I really know. When I'm out there with that group to start the fourth, I know K.D. is resting a little bit, so I just have to raise my aggression level and raise my efficiency up, and I'm grateful to have the trust of my teammates and coaching staff."
Yuta Watanabe&rsquo;s layup in the final minute of the third made it 81-80 for Brooklyn&rsquo;s first lead since it was 33-32. Durant closed the third with a pair of free throws, and the Nets never trailed again. Irving scored eight consecutive points early in the fourth to put Brooklyn up 93-82 and cap a 17-3 run, and the Hawks called timeout.
&ldquo;I think the whole second half we were there for each other," Durant said. &ldquo;We made a couple of adjustments on a couple of guys and we were able to execute that. We were able to slow them down just a little bit."
The injury-riddled Hawks (17-18) were without leading scorer Trae Young, leading rebounder Clint Capela and starting forward De&rsquo;Andre Hunter. Young was scratched before tipoff with a left calf contusion. Capela and Hunter were ruled out long before the game began.
Dejounte Murray scored 24 points and John Collins had 21 for Atlanta, which tied it at 104 on Aaron Holiday&rsquo;s 3 but never took the lead in the closing minutes of the fourth. Onyeka Okongwu finished with 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
&ldquo;I saw fight from our guys tonight," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;You can live with that. I thought from start to finish we stepped up and played. We didn't think about the guys that were out. The guys that were playing came out and played to win."
Murray missed a 27-footer with 0.1 seconds remaining as the buzzer sounded. He also missed a layup from the baseline with 50.6 seconds to go and one of two free throws with 29.9 seconds left that ended the scoring.
TIP-INS
Nets: Brooklyn is 14-4 against the Hawks since the start of 2017-18, the best record against Atlanta over that span. ... The Nets have won six straight on the road. ... Patty Mills scored all 12 of his points in the second quarter. ... Nic Claxton had a career high six blocked shots. ... Vaughn is 21-7 since taking over for Steve Nash.
Hawks: Coach Nate McMillan had no immediate update on Capela, who&rsquo;s missed five of the last six games with a right calf strain. ... The timetable is equally unclear on Hunter, who&rsquo;s missed two straight games with a left ankle sprain.
&nbsp;

Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, Kevin Durant had 26 points, and the  Nets won their 10th straight game, 108-107 over the Hawks.

Nets win 10th straight, beating short-handed Hawks 108-107

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Brooklyn Nets rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 119-116 on Friday night, extending their winning streak to a season-high five.
Irving scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, eluding Toronto&rsquo;s Fred VanVleet to connect on the decisive basket &mdash; the first game-winning buzzer-beater of his NBA career.
&ldquo;Honestly, I was thinking basket,&rdquo; Irving said. &ldquo;I saw Juancho (Hernangomez) come over a little bit earlier so I decided to pull it back and took my time, got my balance underneath me.&rdquo;
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said he planned to give Kevin Durant the ball for the final shot, but Durant convinced Vaughn to let Irving shoot instead.
&ldquo;He was already cooking so I didn&rsquo;t want to get in his way,&rdquo; Durant said of Irving. &ldquo;I felt like he could get whatever he wanted there. I also felt like they weren&rsquo;t going to run and double him, either. They let him play 1-on-1 and it was a special, special shot.&rdquo;
It was Brooklyn&rsquo;s first game-winning buzzer-beater since Brook Lopez hit one in a home victory over Detroit on March 21, 2017.
Vaughn said Irving has the right personality for such a high-pressure shot.
&ldquo;He definitely has an inner peace and poise that you have to have in that situation to not panic,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;And he has an innate ability to get to his spot. He wanted to rise up, he created space with balance."
Irving said competitive desire, not comfort, is his main driver.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really comfortable, I just want to be great in those situations,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve failed more than I&rsquo;ve succeeded.&rdquo;
A disappointed VanVleet said Irving deserved credit for his cold-blooded basket.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best in the world at that right there,&rdquo; VanVleet said. &ldquo;You have to salute him&rdquo;
Durant scored 26 points and Nic Claxton had 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocks as the Nets overcame an 18-point deficit to sweep the season series from Toronto for the first time since 2002-03.
VanVleet matched his season high with 39 points. Scottie Barnes had 26 and Pascal Siakam added 17 as the struggling Raptors lost their season-worst fourth straight.
Yuta Watanabe scored 17 points for the Nets against his former team, including a go-ahead 3 with 14 seconds left. Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren each had 10 points for Brooklyn, which has won nine of 10.
Toronto&rsquo;s O.G. Anunoby sat out for the third straight game because of a sore left hip, while guard Gary Trent Jr. was not available because of a sore left quad.
Malachi Flynn scored 13 points as the Raptors lost back-to-back home games for the first time. Toronto is 10-5 north of the border.
The Raptors led 62-44 after a 3-pointer by Siakam with 1:17 left in the first half, but Brooklyn closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run, cutting it to 62-52.
&ldquo;That was a huge little stretch for us to get to 10 at halftime,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
The Nets outscored Toronto 17-8 in the first five minutes of the third to cut the deficit to 70-69, and Durant&rsquo;s basket with 3:25 left in the quarter gave Brooklyn a 77-76 lead, its first of the game.
Toronto went 0 for 5 from 3-point range in the third and the Nets took an 88-84 lead to the fourth.
TIP-INS
Nets: G Patty Mills (non-COVID-19 illness) did not travel to Toronto and is doubtful for Sunday&rsquo;s game at Detroit. &hellip; Won their third straight road game, a season high. Brooklyn is 8-7 on the road. &hellip; Shot a season-best 60.5% (46 for 76), including going 14 for 20 in the fourth.
Raptors: VanVleet scored 25 points before halftime, a season high for any half. &hellip; Hernangomez made his second start of the season as Toronto used its 16th starting lineup in 29 games.
&nbsp;

Kyrie Irving hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Brooklyn Nets rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 119-116.

Irving hits game-winning 3 at buzzer, Nets win 5th straight

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Ben Simmons will miss at least the next three games with what the Brooklyn Nets said is a strained left upper calf.
Coach Jacque Vaughn said before the Nets played Washington on Wednesday night that Simmons was feeling pain in the back of his knee when he asked to come out of their victory over Orlando on Monday night.
The injured turned out to be the calf, not the knee.
Simmons also will miss home games against Toronto on Friday and Boston on Sunday before he is reassessed.
Vaughn said Simmons didn't recall a specific moment when he was hurt and that it could have just been caused by playing in a number of games after missing last season. Simmons missed five games earlier in the season with left knee soreness.
The Nets also said Yuta Watanabe would remain out and be reassessed next week because of his strained right hamstring. The forward was leading the NBA in 3-point percentage when he was hurt after a victory over Memphis on Nov. 20.

Simmons will miss home games against Toronto on Friday and Boston on Sunday before he is reassessed.

Nets' Ben Simmons out at least 3 games with left calf strain

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Buddy Hield scored 26 points to lead four Indiana players with 20 or more, and the Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 128-117 on Friday night.
&ldquo;He's unafraid,&rdquo; Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. &ldquo;He puts the ball in the basket. You have to choose to look at things that guys do well.&rdquo;
Myles Turner added 23 points, Tyrese Haliburton had 21 and Bennedict Mathurin finished with 20 for the Pacers. Halburton also had 15 assists.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter for the Nets. Ben Simmons made all eight shots and scored 20 before fouling out in the final minute. Kyrie Irving also had 20.
Mathurin, who scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, sank a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Pacers a 99-96 lead, their first since the middle of the first quarter. The Pacers expanded the lead to 108-98 with a 3-pointer by Hield with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn closed the deficit to 110-107 when Durant sank a 3-pointer, was fouled and converted the four-point play. But Indiana pulled away again.
Nic Claxton, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, was called for a flagrant foul for shoving Haliburton, who had to be restrained from going after Claxton. Haliburton sank two free throws to push the lead to 120-111 with 3:38 to go.
&ldquo;I think we have a mature group,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;We may be young, but we lock into the details of the game. We don&rsquo;t allow ourselves to get rattled. We got Tyrese back there, the head of the snake. It seems like he always has his composure in key moments and he keeps us calm.&rdquo;
Turner said that was important in the fourth quarter
&ldquo;There were some chippy plays,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;They were trying to get our heads a little bit. They kept composure and didn&rsquo;t allow that to mess up the flow of the game.&rdquo;
The Pacers outscored the Nets 40-23 in the final period.
&ldquo;They were becoming the aggressor and shifted the momentum in their favor,&rdquo; Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said.
The Nets shot 61% to take a 65-57 lead at halftime. Irving set the pace with 14 points, followed by Simmons with 12. The Pacers made nearly 48% of their shots in the first half.
For the game, the Nets shot 53% while the Pacers shot 50%. But the big difference was at the free throw line, where the Pacers sank 30 of 38 while the Nets were 8 of 10.
&ldquo;We wanted to get them off their 3-point line, but I&rsquo;m not sure how disciplined we were when they got to the rim of not fouling,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;(We) have to have discipline when they get to the rim and just be vertical. A lot of times guys are going to miss those shots and we rewarded them with fouls. You&rsquo;re on the road, you can&rsquo;t expect any calls. For us, it&rsquo;s a good lesson to be more disciplined in how we approach the defensive end of the floor.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nets: Yuta Watanabe was sidelined with a right hamstring strain for the second consecutive game. &hellip; Simmons scored in double figures for the sixth straight game. In the three games prior to the streak, Simmons had a combined total of 10 points.
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard missed his third consecutive game with a bruised left knee. &hellip; After a long discussion with the referees during a timeout in the third quarter, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was issued a technical. Durant missed the free throw. ... Haliburton had four of the Pacers' 13 steals. In contrast, the Nets had two steals.
&nbsp;

Buddy Hield scored 26 points to lead four Indiana players with 20 or more, and the Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 128-117.

Pacers have 4 players with 20-plus points, beat Nets 128-117

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Royce O’Neale scored on a tip-in with 0.7 seconds left to complete a triple-double and give the Brooklyn Nets a 109-107 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 35 points, and O’Neale had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Yuta Watanabe added 20 points off the bench and Ben Simmons scored a season-high 15 points before fouling out with 24 seconds left.
“He was incredible tonight,” Durant said about Simmons. “I thought he did a good job of commanding the offense, commanding the team on the defensive side of the ball. He was able to control the game and get us back into it.” 
Said Simmons: “People make it seem like I had a sprained ankle or something. I came back from back surgery, that’s not easy. I’m getting there.” 
Damian Lillard had 25 points and 11 assists for Portland. The Blazers shot only 38.7% from the field, including 29% in the second half. 
“We really never got a flow in the fourth quarter,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “The end of the third quarter really hurt us. We had an 11-point lead with 2:40 to go, they go on a 14-0 run that turned the tide on us. From there we were in scramble mode.” 
A 3-pointer by Watanabe gave the Nets an 85-82 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Watanabe scored 11 of his points in the third.
The Nets won a challenge down 95-93 with 7:31 left. Durant’s basket after the challenge tied it at 95. After a pair of empty Portland possessions, Durant gave the Nets a 97-95 lead.
With 3:28 left, the Blazers began intentionally fouling Simmons. The career 59% free-throw shooter went 3 of 4 during the crucial series to preserve a 103-99 lead for Brooklyn.
“We had no doubts when he went up there,” Durant said of the team’s confidence in Simmons. 
“I love those moments. I’m not going to shy away,” Simmons said. “That was their plan, but obviously it didn’t work. But I’m just building. I love those moments.” 
Durant split a pair of free-throws to make it 106-103. Jusuf Nurkic was fouled by Durant on a layup with 6.5 seconds left and Nurkic converted the 3-point play to tie it at 107.
“Regardless of what people say, we’re here to win,” Simmons said. “We’re here to win a championship. It’s going to take everybody to do that. Everybody’s got to stay focused, locked in and stay the course, not get caught up in all the other things going on.” 
KYRIE NEAR RETURN
Star guard Kyrie Irving could return to the lineup for Brooklyn as soon as Sunday night when the Nets host the Memphis Grizzlies, according to coach Jacque Vaughn. Irving has not played since Nov. 1 while serving a team-imposed suspension for refusing to say he had no antisemitic beliefs.
Vaughn admitted there are no guarantees when incorporating Irving back into the team, which has gone 4-3 in his absence.
“There’s some uncertainty there for sure. And my approach is, the train is going to keep moving. That train is: playing hard, playing together, being a team and that’s going to continue. And that’s going to be up to me to get our group to incorporate everybody.”
UP NEXT
Nets: Host Memphis on Sunday night.
Trail Blazers: Host Utah on Saturday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Royce O’Neale scored on a tip-in with 0.7 seconds left to give the Brooklyn Nets a 109-107 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

O’Neale scores on late tip, Nets top Trail Blazers 109-107

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic scored 36 points, becoming only the second NBA player ever with nine consecutive games of at least 30 to begin the season, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-94 on Monday night.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 18 points and Josh Green had 16 for the Mavericks, who have won four straight games.
Kevin Durant had 26 points for the Nets, who led by 14 points eight minutes in. Cam Thomas scored 19 points, Royce O&rsquo;Neal had 15 and Joe Harris added 14.
Doncic joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to score 30 or more points in the first nine games of a season. Chamberlain did it in the first 23 games of 1962-63.
Doncic played 38 minutes and passed the 30-point mark on a step-back 3-pointer with 3 seconds left on the shot clock with 7:54 remaining in the fourth period to pull Dallas to 78-77.
That began a 14-0 Mavericks run &ndash; including a technical foul on Durant followed by him jawing at the Dallas bench &ndash; for an 88-78 lead with 5 minutes left.
The Nets pulled to 92-91 on Thomas' 3 with 25.3 seconds left. Doncic made two free throws with 13.8 seconds to play for a three-point lead. Durant was fouled on the dribble with 11 seconds to go and pulled Brooklyn to 94-93 with two free throws. Finney-Smith hit two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to push Dallas' lead to 96-93.
Brooklyn inbounded with 6.7 seconds left and Durant was fouled by Reggie Bullock while attempting a 3-pointer. Durant hit the first but rimmed out the second. He intentionally missed the third free throw, and Dallas came away with the ensuing scramble for the ball.
Brooklyn fell to 2-2 under acting coach Jacque Vaughn following the firing of Steve Nash last Tuesday, and 2-1 following the suspension of Kyrie Irving last Thursday.
TIP-INS
Nets: Ben Simmons came off the bench after missing the previous four games with left knee soreness. Simmons had two points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. ... F Yuta Watanabe left the game three minutes into the second period with a sprained left ankle after playing five minutes. Watanabe averages 17 minutes per game. ... The reserves 2 for 13 in the first half. ... Vaughn said he hasn&rsquo;t yet spoken with Irving since the suspension was levied.
Mavericks: Doncic accounted for 23 of 25 points by Dallas starters in the first half. ... G Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 11 points off the bench and left the game late in the third quarter with a foot or ankle injury after he slipped and fell in the paint.
UP NEXT
Nets: Host the New York Knicks on Wednesday in the first of the rivals&rsquo; four meetings.
Mavericks: At Orlando on Wednesday.

Luka Doncic scored 36 points, becoming only the second NBA player ever with nine consecutive games of at least 30 to begin the season.

Doncic extends 30-point streak to 9, Mavs edge Nets 96-94

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant had 28 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets won easily in their first game following Kyrie Irving's suspension, 128-86 over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
Nic Claxton added 18 points for the Nets, who won for only the third time this season despite also being without the injured Ben Simmons and Seth Curry. Brooklyn shot 14 of 28 from 3-point range and 56% from the field overall.
&ldquo;Let's put the joy back in basketball," Nets owner Joe Tsai said in a postgame tweet.
No explanation was necessary. The Nets (3-6) have had a tumultuous week, parting ways with coach Steve Nash on Tuesday and suspending Irving on Thursday. The fallout from Irving's post of a link to an antisemitic work continued Friday with Nike announcing as the Nets were playing that the company has halted its relationship with Irving.
&ldquo;You just have to focus on the game, keep your mind on the game plan and discipline to come out and execute and get the win,&rdquo; Brooklyn's Royce O'Neale said.
The team played well without Irving, holding Washington to 29 points in the second half.
&ldquo;Kevin was a hub for us tonight &mdash; really put them in tough binds," Nets interim coach Jacque Vaughn said. "He was a willing passer and he capitalized when he had the opportunities to.&rdquo;
Durant spearheaded a 27-3 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second. That gave Brooklyn an 85-60 lead.
His best highlight came earlier, though. Toward the end of the first quarter, Wizards center Daniel Gafford fell to the floor trying to defend Durant on a crossover dribble near the free throw line. Durant made a midrange jumper, and the crowd kept buzzing for a little while.
It was 38-28 after one quarter. The Wizards fought back to within one at 58-57, but Brooklyn scored the final 11 points of the second, capped by Durant&rsquo;s 3-pointer in the final seconds. Then the Nets scored 16 of the first 19 points of the third.
Bradley Beal led Washington with 20 points. Kyle Kuzma scored 19 and Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
&ldquo;We had no competitive spirit. We didn't play hard,&rdquo; Kuzma said. &ldquo;We had a couple good runs ... and it kind of just got out of hand.&rdquo;
LETDOWN
It was a disappointing showing for a Washington team that was coming off a nice win at Philadelphia on Wednesday.
&ldquo;It's embarrassing,&rdquo; Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;I thought it started with our approach. Our approach was lackluster. I think we thought we could ease our way into a game where we felt they didn't have a complete complement, roster-wise.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nets: Simmons was out with left knee soreness, and Curry because of left ankle injury management. ... Cam Thomas scored 17 points and Yuta Watanabe added 14.
Wizards: Corey Kispert (left ankle sprain) played for the first time this season and scored two points. ... The Wizards went 11 of 41 from the field in the second half.

Kevin Durant had 28 points and the Nets won in their first game following Kyrie Irving's suspension, 128-86 over the Wizards.

Without suspended Irving, Nets rout Wizards 128-86

This marks the first time that NBA opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons