On Tuesday night at Barclays Center celebrating Kyrie Irving’s return, there was a sense of a very different picture of Kyrie Irving’s career in Brooklyn.
There was no video tribute, unlike the one Kevin Durant received about a week ago.
A mixture of boos and cheers filled the arena as the starting lineup was announced, and Irving waved to the crowd like an old friend.
During the game, the crowd wavered between boos and cheers as the former Nets player, who had been with the team for three and a half seasons, handled the ball and took shots.
But one thing was clear to Irving.
He wanted to send a message to Brooklyn throughout the game, as a player who scored 36 points in a 119-107 win over the Nets, stung the Nets again and sparked a wave of trade requests from Durant and James Harden. They wiped out the Nets. It was supposed to be the main trio heading into the championship.
The Nets (20-30) improved in the final stages, but were once again on the losing streak against a weak team.
Four of the rotation players — Cam Johnson (left adductor strain), Lonnie Walker IV (left hamstring strain), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain), and Dayron Sharpe (left). (knee hyperextension) — was out, and Ben Simmons was out. There is a minute limit.
Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 28, followed by Cam Thomas with 16, and had a career-high eight assists in a game.
Royce O’Neal added 18 points and Nick Claxton, who committed his second flagrant No. 1 foul in back-to-back games, had nine points.
Unlike the night before, the Nets weren’t brutally outrebounded or forced into the paint.
The Nets shot 45.1 percent from the field compared to the Mavericks’ 50 percent, and couldn’t quite keep up with Irving and Luka Doncic, who had a double-double of 35 points and 18 rebounds.
