“When you try your best but you don't succeed.” Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are probably listening to Coldplay's “Fix You” after yet another humongous effort from the Brooklyn Nets duo went to waste following a 125-129 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The talented yet oft-criticized Durant and Irving dropped 37 and 39 points, respectively, in the losing effort, etching their names into history that they won't be too proud to recount.
After their latest gigantic scoring efforts, Durant and Irving have both scored more than 100 points each over the past three games (Durant with 107, Irving with 103), but all of them have resulted in losses. According to ESPN Stats & Info, they are only the second pair of teammates in NBA history to accomplish the feat with nothing to show for in the win column.
The last time this happened was in 1983, when Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe did the same for the Denver Nuggets.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are only the second pair of teammates to each record 100-plus points over the same three-game span in which their team lost every game, per @EliasSports.
The other pair was Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English in 1983 for the Nuggets. pic.twitter.com/SykyOXVnyU
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 28, 2022
Those Nuggets teams of yore were famous for being high-octane offensive outfits led by head coach Doug Moe. In 1983, the Nuggets led the league in points per game, but they also had the most porous defense in the entire association, which doesn't add up to a championship formula.
While Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have done something in their careers that Vandeweghe and English weren't able to, and that is to win a championship, the Nets' defensive problems may be too much of a hurdle for them to overcome even as they try to outgun the opponents every night. The Nets have had games this season where they allowed 130, 134, and 129 points, and a team just wouldn't be able to go far allowing plenty of easy buckets on a nightly basis.
The Nets will definitely be better defensively. The only question is when the Nets are going to be able to put it together on both ends of the floor. Steve Nash's squad has some solid defensive rotation fixtures in Ben Simmons, Royce O'Neale, and Nicolas Claxton, and perhaps the coaching staff just has to tilt the team's balance towards a more consistent two-way effort rather than going for explosive scoring numbers every game.
Ben Simmons, who headlined the return the Nets got for a disgruntled James Harden, will be crucial in getting his team to where they aspire to be come season's end. Once (or if) he jolts himself out of the apparent lack of confidence with his scoring ability, then Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will have someone who can help shoulder the heavy burden they carry.
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