NEW YORK (AFP) — On the first anniversary of his trade to Dallas, Kyrie Irving returned to Brooklyn on Tuesday and showed his old team what they had lost with 36 points as the Mavericks beat the Nets, 119-107.
With Luka Doncic putting up 35 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, the Mavs dominated as they improved to 28-23 on the season while Brooklyn slipped to 20-30.
Irving, who returned from a six-game injury absence in Monday’s win at Philadelphia and Doncic, who shed a protective mask for his nose injury, said it was great to have the eight-time All Star back.
“We are just dangerous when we are both aggressive, I think we did a great job, we are just trying to get healthy and get everyone back,” he said.
The Mavs are still without the injured pair of Dereck Lively and Dante Exum but Doncic said the back-to-back wins bode well for when the team returns to full health.
“We haven’t really played healthy. It is tough to play on the road, I think we did a great job both games, sharing the ball,” he said.
Irving received some jeers from the home crowd in Brooklyn but had already reached 16 points early in the second quarter.
He silenced the crowd with a stunning dunk in the third quarter from an alley-oop to give the Mavs a 74-52 lead.
