SAN FRANCISCO — The boos for Kyrie Irving reverberated from the walls in the jam-packed Chase Center 10 miles away to Oracle Arena, where the Golden State Warriors last played in 2019.
Those boos — the loudest Irving has received as a Net since his return to Boston in last year’s playoffs — could be heard across the country in Cleveland, and they could certainly be heard by Nets fans watching on TV in Brooklyn.
Warriors fans didn’t boo Irving because of his decision not to get vaccinated, even though San Francisco’s City Supervisor publicly condemned the Nets star’s eligibility to play at the Warriors’ home arena without getting the shot to prevent COVID-19.
They booed him because watching him size-up Stephen Curry from the right wing was a stark reminder of the shot he hit to rob the Warriors and deliver the Cleveland Cavaliers their first championship in franchise history in 2016.
Now the Nets are hoping Irving can help them do the same, and their valiant effort in a 110-106 loss to the Warriors on Saturday underscores just how dangerous this team can be when all their players are at their disposal.
Irving was the only star available for the Nets as Kevin Durant continues to work through an MCL sprain slated to sideline him until after the All-Star break. The Nets also ruled James Harden out less than an hour before tipoff with what Steve Nash described as a nagging strain in his right hand.
Yet one — or maybe Irving’s No. 11 — was the magic number in a Nets performance that should have both Harden and Durant juiced for the future. After shooting just 2 of 7 from the field for 11 points in the first half, the Nets’ star exploded for a 14-point third quarter on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
The Warriors, however, are an elite-coached team, and Steve Kerr made an easy decision: Send two bodies at Irving, and in some part Patty Mills, and live or die with the others making plays.
This is where the drop-off from stars to role players became apparent: Mills scored 22 points, including a barrage of 3s in the third quarter, and James Johnson added 14 points off the bench, but the Nets had little other offensive firepower to get them over the hump in their first of a five-game West Coast road trip.
Meanwhile, five Warriors players scored in double figures, led not by the all-time 3-point leader Stephen Curry, but first-time All-Star Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins looked every bit the part of his All-Star status and helped the Warriors build multiple double-digit leads that the Nets had to overcome.
Those five players were barely enough to contain Irving, who hit a leaning 3 from the right wing over Golden State’s Gary Payton Jr. to make it a 107-106 game in the fourth quarter.
Irving finished with a game-high 32 points.
What happens when the Nets finally have all their pieces on the floor and Irving isn’t a solo act? We may have to wait until the NBA Finals to find out.
