Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets look on.
For the Brooklyn Nets (28-17), it has to start with one. That one win, a 117-108 victory over the Utah Jazz, has to serve as a launching point for a team searching for an identity with its best player, Kevin Durant, sidelined for the foreseeable future.
With Durant out of commission, Kyrie Irving had to take it largely upon himself to stop the bleeding, snapping the Nets’ four-game losing streak with a 48-point explosion.
Now, he and a relieved squad can prepare for the surprisingly .500 Golden State Warriors (23-23) and Stephen Curry. This will be the second – and final – meeting between these two teams barring an NBA Finals showdown after Brooklyn set a franchise record with 91 points in the first half en route to a 143-113 win.
Irving missed that first game but spoke on just where his mind is ahead of this meeting.
Kyrie Irving Sounds Off on Facing Stephen Curry
“I could load up on a bunch of superlatives for Steph – how much we match up, how much I enjoy that,” Irving said after scoring 21 of his season-high 48 points in the fourth quarter against Utah. “But it’s a team attitude that I’m having coming in Sunday. And that’s really the foundation of us growing throughout this process right now that we’re in.”
Curry and Irving have met 16 times in the regular season with the Warriors superstar having a 9-7 edge in the regular season and an 8-5 advantage in 13 postseason bouts all coming in the NBA Finals.
Those Finals tilts were undoubtedly the most significant with Curry and Irving each earning a ring against the other. Irving does own the scoring advantage averaging 27.7 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.2 rebounds to Curry’s 24.5 points, 6.2 assists, and 6.0 rebounds.
None of that is on Irving’s mind now, though, as he has embraced a different mindset.
“The ups and downs are going to come and go. But we just have to stay poised and stay consistent. And it starts with me showing up every day and leading by example. And just putting my body on the line and doing whatever it takes to win. So it feels good.”
Irving has been speaking this way for a while but having it lead to a win under the circumstances is nothing to dismiss for the player or the team.
The Nets went 8-19 without Durant last season including an 11-game skid while he was injured that still saw Irving average 25.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.9 rebounds with 1.1 steals. Irving only appeared in eight of those games due to his stance on the COVID vaccine keeping him out of home games.
Kyrie Irving ‘Leading From The Front’
While this shift from Irving was present with Durant and is crucial in his absence, it ultimately bodes well for the Nets’ postseason outlook as the team looks towards its leaders for results in tough times.
“I mean, tonight, last night, I’m really observing out there on the court,” Nic Claxton said after Irving’s big night. “As you’re watching them, it’s like he’s just in a different world. He’s locked in, he’s in a different type of zone, and he makes those big shots time and time again. And you just watch it and don’t take it for granted. Just having a guy that creates shots from all three levels the way he can.”
A 48-point masterclass.
Irving leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring with 9.2 points per game going from ranking third with 8.7 PPG before Durant went down. That is a prime example of him, as he says, “leading from the front”.
“Me getting out of my own way and allowing the other guys to help,” he said, “taking this journey day by day.”