Eastern Conference Recaps, Jan. 20: Kyrie Irving's 48 Points Leads Brooklyn Nets Past Utah Jazz

Irving has another big night in Kevin Durant's absence
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It seems Kyrie Irving is keeping his focus on basketball after scoring a season-high 48 points to help the Brooklyn Nets to a 117-106 victory against the Utah Jazz. It was his first 40-point game since Apr. 5, 2022.

“He’s just in a different world,” said Nic Claxton, who had 20 points. “He’s locked in. He’s in a different type of zone and he makes those big shots time and time again."

Irving also had 11 rebounds, his second double-double this season. Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 29 points while Lauri Markkanen had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

OTHER NOTES:

-Franz Wagner scored 30 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 123-110 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was his third 30-point game this season.

“I got into good rhythm early on, got a couple of open ones,” Wagner said, “and then I think our ball movement all night got really good shots for everybody.”

CJ McCollum had 23 points for the Pelicans while Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

-Dejounte Murray scored 29 points to help the Atlanta Hawks to a 139-124 victory against the New York Knicks. He also had 12 assists while Trae Young had 27 points. Julius Randle led the Knicks with 32 points while RJ Barrett had 23.

-With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green out, Jordan Poole scored 32 points to lift the Golden State Warriors to a 120-114 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was his ninth time scoring 30 or more points this season. Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 31 points while Caris LeVert had 22.

-While Nikola Jokic sat out with a hamstring injury, Aaron Gordon scored 28 points to help Denver Nuggets to a 134-111 victory against the Indiana Pacers. Michael Porter had 19 while Jamal Murray had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists, his first career triple-double.

“I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,” Murray explained. “We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.”

Rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 points for the Pacers while Chris Duarte had 18.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog https://allball30.wordpress.com


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Cory Nelson
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