By Derrel Jazz Johnson
After losing the home opener last Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets 111-95 in front of hip-hop luminaries Jay Z and Busta Rhymes, the Brooklyn Nets rebounded a night later to defeat the Washington Wizards,104-90 to move back to .500 at 2-2. Brooklyn superstar Kevin Durant led the team with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Patty Mills came off the bench to add 21 points.
Durant discussed the team’s performance after the win. “I liked that when we didn’t make shots to start the second half we still got stops,” he said. “We still showed them bodies. This team was playing with confidence and I think we came in here on a second night of a back-to-back and imposed our will the whole game.”
Second year Brooklyn Head Coach Steve Nash talked about the team’s win. “They came to play,” Nash began. “The competitive spirit was there. The discipline was there. Defensively, our details were good and combative. We got into people and were physical with our defense, and made the extra efforts that I thought were missing in last night’s game.”
Durant became the 26th player in league history to score 24,000 points. Only 2 other active players LeBron James (35,445) and Carmelo Anthony (27,423) have more points. Next in sight for Durant is Hall of Famers Allen Iverson (362 Points), Ray Allen (499 points), and Patrick Ewing (809 points). Said Durant off reaching the milestone, “It means a lot. It means everything to be honest. You want to leave your mark in this league on the game of basketball itself. To be amongst the greatest that this game has ever seen, just to be in that same company is pretty sweet. As a kid, I seen the 50th anniversary and always dreamt of having one of those jackets on and being amongst that group and being in that brotherhood, so it feels good to be a part of it now.”
Brooklyn hosted the Miami Heat last night, before hosting the Indiana Pacers Friday and the Detroit Pistons Sunday at Barclays Center. The team is still without guard Kyrie Irving who has yet to be vaccinated. There is no foreseeable time frame for his return.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
