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Kevin Durant Reacts to Kyrie Irving's 60-Point Game

KD loved Kyrie's mentality after career night vs. Orlando Magic

Joey Linn

Julio Aguilar | Credit: Getty Images
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Kyrie Irving was special on Tuesday night against the Orlando Magic. Going for 60 points on 20/31 from the field, 8/12 from deep, and 12/13 from the line, Kyrie's 81.7% true shooting percentage in this game ranked 3rd best amongst all 60-point games in NBA history. After the game, Kevin Durant shared his thoughts.

"I think you can see that we're both in a nice little groove right now. We know this is a huge night for Kai, but he even said it coming into the locker room: 'We've got more to do.' I love that mentality, even on a special night like this," Durant said. While KD was obviously impressed with his teammate's career night, he was most pleased with Kyrie's focus after the game.

This focus from Kyrie Irving is necessary, because while a fully-healthy Nets team projects to dominate the Eastern Conference, they are likely to finish this season in the play-in tournament. Kevin Durant's extended injury and Kyrie Irving's part-time status may have sealed Brooklyn's fate as a play-in team, so while these dominant games remind the NBA how good they can be, the team must dial in their focus on the task at hand.

The Brooklyn Nets are now 36-33, which has them sitting at 8th in the Eastern Conference. Just 2.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors for 7th, and 3.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for 6th, the Nets still have an opportunity to move up in the standings, but there are just 13 games left to do so.

For now, the Nets will enjoy Kyrie's big night, but like he emphasized after the win, there's much more to do.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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