LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Brooklyn Nets shook off the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving and eased to a 128-86 NBA victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday in their first game since the star guard was suspended.
Kevin Durant came up just shy of a triple double, delivering 28 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.
Nic Claxton added 18 points for the Nets, who notched just their third victory of a young season that has already seen plenty of turmoil.
The Nets sacked head coach Steve Nash on Tuesday, and suspended Irving for at least five games on Friday, a week after he sparked a firestorm with a social media post featuring a link to a film widely condemned as anti-Semitic.
The Nets were frustrated that Irving had failed to offer an outright apology or “disavow anti-Semiti
Hours after the suspension was announced Irving did apologize via Instagram, but the fallout continued Friday as Nike suspended its relationship with him and cancelled the upcoming launch of the Kyrie 8 shoe.
In Irving’s absence, Durant shined in his hometown of Washington, where the margin of the defeat was the largest at home in Wizards’ history.
Durant connected on 10 of 21 shots from the field and the Nets shot 55.6 percent.
The Wizards erased a 10-point deficit to pull within one with less than two minutes left in the first half. But Brooklyn scored the next 11 points, Durant sealing the half with a three-pointer.
The Nets roared out of the gate in the third quarter and out-scored the Wizards 59-29 in the second half.
