Kyrie Irving helped the Nets solidify their spot in the NBA playoffs with his extremely efficient performance in their 115–108 win over the Cavaliers in the play-in tournament on Tuesday night. The Nets secured the No. 7 seed and will face the Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs beginning Sunday.
The Brooklyn point guard had an outstanding night, going 12-of-15 from the field, 3-of-6 three pointers and 7-of-7 from the free throw line and finished with 12 assists, finishing with 34 points in 24 minutes.
Irving’s performance makes him the first player to complete a 30-point, 10-assist game while shooting 80% from the field since LeBron James did so in the bubble in 2020, according to StatMuse. This also makes Irving only the fourth NBA player in postseason history to finish a game with these statistics.
In a close battle towards the end, Irving made four free throws to help the Nets stay in control of a game in which they led the entire time.
His 80% field goal percentage is Irving’s best of his 2021–22 season. In his last performance against the Pacers on Sunday, he shot 75% from the field.
Alongside Irving, superstar forward Kevin Durant had an excellent night offensively, finishing with 25 points on just 16 shots with 11 assists.
The duo became the third pair of Nets teammates to have 25 points and 10 assists in any game in the franchise’s history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The two previous duos included Derrick Coleman and Rumeal Robinson (1993) and Eric Money and Bernard King (1979).
