Kyrie Irving Erupts for 50 Points, Drills Nine 3s as Nets Beat Hornets

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

The Brooklyn Nets were on the road Tuesday, which meant Kyrie Irving had the chance to play and put on a show.

And put on a show he did.

Irving exploded for 50 points and six assists on 15-of-19 shooting from the field and 9-of-12 shooting from three-point range during a 132-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte had no answers for his ability to slice through defenders off the bounce or let it rain from the outside whenever he had even a sliver of space.

“Everything he does is pure … that was just a master class,” Durant told reporters when discussing Irving after the game.

To the Hornets’ credit, they made a comeback effort in the second half. They trailed by 26 at intermission, and the deficit expanded to more than 30 in the third quarter before they started chipping away.

Still, they never truly threatened and had no counter to Irving’s brilliance even during the rare moments they had momentum with Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier each scoring 30 points.

Irving’s showing came at a critical time for the Nets and helped them snap a four-game losing streak and move a game ahead of Charlotte in the Eastern Conference standings. Brooklyn is now the No. 8 seed, which would be quite beneficial for the play-in tournament.

The Nos. 9 and 10 seeds face each other in a win-or-go-home game, while the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds play for the right to be the No. 7 seed in the bracket. Yet the loser of that game has another chance to make the playoffs by facing the winner of the game between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds.

The difference between the No. 8 and No. 9 seed is the cushion to lose a game and still make the postseason field, and the Nets’ latest win will help them in their effort to avoid that pressure-packed game on the bottom of the play-in tournament.