On February 7, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA regular season is in full swing. In today's focus battle, the Nets challenged the Nuggets on the road. The Nets had suffered a seven-game losing streak prior to this game, and today's game was the last of their five consecutive road trips.
In today's game, Durant was absent due to a knee injury, Harden was absent due to a left hamstring injury, and the Nets were once again led by Irving alone. After the start of the first quarter, Irving actively led his teammates to score, and gave 5 assists in the first quarter alone. But on the personal offensive side, Irving only made 1 of 5, and he only hit one three-pointer and two free throws at 45 degrees on the right side, five points and five assists in a single quarter.
After entering the second quarter, Irving was full of firepower, and he stood up in the face of the Nuggets' crazy offensive. He shot 6-of-9 in a single quarter, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, one with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Irving rarely played the whole quarter. Under Irving's leadership, the Nets trailed the Nuggets by just one point at halftime.
However, after the third quarter of the game, the Nuggets were in full bloom, and the Nets as a whole only scored 16 points in a single quarter. Irving's feel also plummeted, scoring 6 points on 2-of-8 shooting, and both points came from under the basket, his mid-range shots were all out of the way, and the Nets were also caught behind by 16 points.
In the final showdown, Irving scored 2 points on just 1-of-4 shooting. Faced with a huge point difference, Irving was also powerless and was replaced early.
In the end, the Nets lost to the Nuggets on the road and suffered an eight-game losing streak. Irving played 41 minutes today, shooting 10-of-26, including 3-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, for a total of 27 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, plus or minus -19.
It is worth mentioning that in the 12 games Irving has played this season, the Nets have only made 4 wins and 8 losses. At the same time, according to the NBA's epidemic prevention policy, Irving only has 10 games left in the regular season this season. In other words, Irving is halfway through this season's schedule.
According to the schedule, the Nets will return to the home game on February 9, when Irving will not be able to play.