Kyrie Irving sets personal and franchise career high with 60 points against Magic

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been in the news for quite some time and most of it has been negative. Irving still cannot play in home games due to New York City’s public mandate, and his teammate Kevin Durant recently spoke out against the rule. Durant walked back on his critical comments but that wasn’t the only issue with Irving in Sunday’s win over the Knicks.

The NBA fined the Nets $50,000 for allowing Irving to go into the locker room, which was a violation of the mandate rules. Amid all this, Irving decided he would let his play on the court do the talking.

The guard exploded for 60 points against the Orlando Magic Tuesday, setting a franchise and personal career high for scoring. Irving joins a recent string of big scores around the league, with Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns also having big outings. Durant himself dropped 53 in Sunday’s win over the Knicks.

If Irving can eventually make the Nets whole, this becomes a dangerous unit. Even with Ben Simmons slowly working his way back, Durant and Irving look to be enough to take care of any team on any given night. The Nets are still favored to win the East at +260 per DraftKings Sportsbook and they are +500 to win the title.