The Brooklyn Nets played at the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night. It was Nets' superstar Kyrie Irving's first game of the season. Head coach Steve Nash announced that Irving would get the start and play considerable minutes.
The Nets have been struggling of late. They have lost three straight games. On Monday, Brooklyn got crushed by the Memphis Grizzlies. Rising star Ja Morant went bananas in the win for the Grizzlies.
Rising COVID-19 cases around the league have wreaked havoc on team's rosters and their ability to play. The Nets themselves had three games postponed in December because they did not have enough healthy bodies. James Harden and Kevin Durant both spent time on the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
That prompted the organization to rethink not allowing Kyrie Irving to join the team.
Irving is still not allowed to play in home games because of state laws and guidelines implemented for vaccination. Kyrie Irving has been a very vocal anti-vaxxer.
Irving, in his first game of the season, came out a little slow. He started 0-3 and had Myles Turner swat one of his shots high off the glass.
not in @Original_Turner's paint 🚫 pic.twitter.com/MjKranmN1Z
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 6, 2022
Pacers forward Lance Stephenson stole the show early on. It was Stephenson's first game back with the Pacers since the 2017-2018 season. He came out on fire, dropping 20 points in the 1st quarter.
In the 2nd quarter, Irving finally got it going a little bit. He hit shots on back to back possessions. This was Irving's first made bucket of the year.
Kyrie Irving scores his first bucket of the season pic.twitter.com/CDGgsP6Zz3
— Talkin’ Nets (@TalkinNets) January 6, 2022
Irving caught fire, scoring a few buckets in just over a couple of minutes. The Nets look to snap their 3-game skid and if Irving can return to form, the rest of the league will take notice.
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