The Brooklyn Nets gave the New York Knicks some chances during Wednesday's game, but RJ Barrett and co. couldn't seize the win, despite building a big lead. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's big second-half comeback sparked the key run to give the Nets the 110-98 win in the battle of the boroughs and a massive win for their standings. By winning, they keep hope alive that they can win out and host a play-in game, rather than have to head out on the road.

As the Nets continue to vie for a championship by taking out a shorthanded Knicks squad, fans couldn't help but look back on the fateful decision Durant and Irving made three years ago during the summer of 2019, when they wanted to come to New York …  just not the city's most popular team, the Knicks.

And Irving may have revealed he and KD considered joining the blue and orange.

“I really don't give an explanation, you guys know me, I throw darts in the air and just wait for people to just assume whatever they want … and K [Kevin Durant] has a certain type of way,” Irving said, contrasting his social media presence with Durant's.

The Nets point guard likes to keep his meaning pretty vague, and reporters in NYC were quick to acknowledge they knew exactly what he meant by laughing.

“I think one of the funniest things that I see out there probably from Knicks fans,” Irving continued, “is just like, ‘Me and K are perfect for each other 'cause of the way we respond on social sometimes.' But I think it's all in good fun. And they had a good chance of getting us back in free agency, but we just felt like we wanted to build here and just make my mark on this franchise. I don't think we regret our decision and we just wanna live with really leaning on each other and making sure this is successful for us.”

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If we really wanted to Zapruder this statement, we might note he floats in and out of the collective and the singular. “We wanted to build here,” but then “make my mark on this franchise,” but “I don't think we regret our decision.” All kinds of stuff to unpack here.

Did Kyrie Irving just admit that the Knicks had a “good chance” of getting the package deal back in 2019? Back then it was widely rumored they were considering joining the Knicks; Durant even more so than Irving. At one point in that season it felt like Durant was going to leave the Golden State Warriors to join the Knicks. Kyrie, we weren't sure what he'd do about Boston since he committed there and they could offer him so much more money.

The way I heard it was that Durant was actually content to or even planning on joining the Knicks but Irving preferred the Nets for a combination of factors. He lobbied KD to come to the black and white. One of the reasons was that he grew up in New Jersey, where the Nets used to play.

It leaves us wondering if the Knicks could have done something differently in order to get them both. Remember how they infamously fell short when making their 2010 pitch to LeBron James, complete with a Sopranos-themed movie?

Instead, the Knicks pivoted that fateful 2019 summer and signed Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, and Bobby Portis. Steve Mills, the Knicks' former president, suggested the team was content with the offseason they had. The audacity.

But it certainly left some animosity between Knicks fans and the star duo who snubbed them for Brooklyn. Now the Nets will turn their attention to beating the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. Two more wins and they're hosting the play-in game. Then all of this borough battle business can resume next season.