Irving scores season-high 54 points, Nets beat Bulls
NEW YORK >> Kyrie Irving scored a seasonhigh 54 points, making all 10 shots in the first half and 19 of 23 for the game, to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 133-118 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
Irving’s previous season high was 50 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the season-opening 127-126 loss on Oct. 23. Irving is the first player in Nets franchise history to score 45 points in three games in a single season.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 20 points off the bench and Taurean Prince chipped in with
16. Jarrett Allen and Garrett Temple contributed 12 and 11, respectively.
The Nets never trailed in their second straight win, and their third in their last four games, with Irving playing the lead role. He scored 16 points in the first quarter on 6-of-6 shooting, and by halftime he was up to 27 points. Irving capped it by scoring five points in the final in the final
4.9 seconds, including a buzzer-beating 3 from the right side which gave the Nets a
73-57 lead.
Irving also had help as Dinwiddie had
15 and Prince added 11 in the opening 24 minutes.
One of Brooklyn’s two prized free agent signings along with Kevin Durant, Irving didn’t miss his first shot from the field until 1:24 into the third, a twisting fadeaway mid-range jumper from the left side.
Chicago, which trailed by as much as 21, fell to 19-32. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with
22. Luke Kornet finished with 19. Thomas Satoransky had 15, and Thaddeus Young had 14. Chicago lost Kris Dunn for the game with what appeared to be a knee injury on the very first possession.
The Bulls cut Brooklyn’s lead to 10599 on Coby White’s 3-pointer 1:17 into the fourth but that was as close as they would get. From that point, the Nets outscored Chicago 28-19.
Irving made two free throws with 3:50 left to set his new season high as chants of “MVP! MVP!” rained down from the sellout crowd at Barclays Center. On the next possession, he knocked down a mid-range jumper.
ROCKETS 128, MAVERICKS 121 >> James Harden scored 35 points, Russell Westbrook added 32 and Houston built a big lead and held on for a victory over Dallas.
Harden led the Rockets with a seasonhigh 16 rebounds with center Clint Capela out with a bruised heel.
The Rockets led by 16 points entering the fourth quarter on a night when Mavericks star Luka Doncic sat out with a sprained right ankle that is expected to keep him out at least six games. PELICANS 139, GRIZZLIES 111 >> Zion Williamson scored 24 points in a little less than 29 minutes, and New Orleans beat Memphis in the first matchup this season between the NBA’s top two draft picks.
Newly selected All-Star Brandon Ingram scored 20 and Lonzo Ball hit five 3-pointers on seven attempts in his 19-point night for the Pelicans, who won their third straight while ending Memphis’ four-game winning streak.
Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points for Memphis before fouling out with 8:11 remaining. Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant, taken second overall behind Williamson in last June’s draft, scored 16 points.
RAPTORS 105, PISTONS 92 >> Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and Serge Ibaka added 21 to lift Toronto to its 10th straight victory, over Detroit.
Siakam made his first five shots from the field and scored 13 points in the first quarter, when the Raptors quickly built their lead into double digits. They were mostly in control after that, handing a Pistons team that was missing Blake Griffin its fifth loss in a row.