NBA : KD & Nets beat Steph & Warriors 125 – 99 in season opener

Kyrie Irving (26 PTS, 4 3PM) and Kevin Durant (22 PTS, 5 REB) lead the Brooklyn Nets to 125 – 99 victory in their first game as teammates. Warriors struggled to match Nets without their star duo Klay Thompson and Draymond Green

Durant is playing his first regular-season game since rupturing his Achilles in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. He spent all of last season recovering, was among the Nets to contract coronavirus when the pandemic shut down the season for four months in March, and played well in two preseason games.

“I feel like each game is important to me,” Durant said after practice Monday. “It’s no more of importance because I’m playing against my old teammates. I just feel like the game of basketball is going to have me on that level anyway and it’s going to be good to see some of my old teammates, good to play against them, good to see some of the people I worked with in Golden State.”

Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 26 points on 10-16 shooting from the floor in his return to action for the first time since Feb. 1, when he injured his shoulder in a collision with Washington’s Bradley Beal.

Besides incorporating Durant and Irving, the Nets are unveiling new coach Steve Nash, who worked with Durant in Golden State. Nash is Brooklyn’s third coach in the past nine months, taking over for Jacque Vaughn, who replaced Kenny Atkinson on March 7 — four days before the season was paused.

“It’s like the first day of school, everyone’s excited and ready to go,” Nash said. “There’s obviously some extra interest because of all of these firsts.”

Caris LeVert scored 20 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST off the bench, he continued his impressive form shown in the bubble.

Warriors struggled big time without their star duo, Steph Curry scored 20 PTS, 10 AST on 7-21 shooting from the field and 2-10 from 3 pt range.  Curry is playing his first game after he was limited to five games due to a broken left hand.

“He’s one of the all-time greats and we have to pay a lot of attention to him especially this season I think with Klay being out,” Nash said about Curry. “He’s going to shoot from everywhere, early and often and that’s the way it should be because he is the greatest shooter of all-time.”

Klay Thompson missed the season with a torn left ACL suffered in the NBA Finals in June 2019. In November, he tore his right Achilles tendon and will sit out this season, as well. Draymond Green missed the game with a strained muscle in his right foot.

James Wiseman, Warriors second overall pick in 2020 NBA Draft impressed on his NBA debut with 19 PTS, 6 REB on 7-13 shooting from the floor.

Warriors at Nets Full Game Highlights :