USA Today via Reuters
Jan 13, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) hugs New York Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett (9) after a game at Madison Square Garden. The Nets defeated the Knicks 116-109. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 13, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) hugs New York Knicks shooting guard RJ Barrett (9) after a game at Madison Square Garden. The Nets defeated the Knicks 116-109. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Durant came back into the league after a period of 560 days which gave his body enough time to recover from the torn Achilles tendon. Many experts who followed his recovery claimed that they’ve never seen someone pull through so effectively from such an alarming injury. While this was good news for the Brooklyn Nets, he still needed to perform and prove it.
After 9 games into the 2020-21 season for him, one can easily conclude that KD is back with a bang. He showed a touch of his improved self in the preseason against the Celtics when he dropped 25 points. That form continued indefinitely for the games to come.
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USA Today via Reuters
Jan 13, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) drives to the basket against New York Knicks point guard Austin Rivers (8) and shooting guard RJ Barrett (9) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Durant set the ball rolling
Putting the Nets’ opening game aside, KD has been nothing but revolutionary. His 22 points against the Warriors were his last when he scored below 25 points. The next 8 matches saw him scoring at an average of 30.4 ppg. He first climbed past Elgin Baylor and Dwyane Wade in the all-time NBA scorers’ list and set another record with his insane show of consistency.
Kevin Durant is the second Nets player with 25+ points in eight consecutive games.
The first: Bernard King (Jan. 1979) pic.twitter.com/6JGTs9rlOL
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) January 14, 2021
Now, back in 2014, he had already made 41 consecutive 25+ points performances playing for OKC (in one season). The invincible king of the list is Wilt Chamberlain (106 games in 1961), followed by Michael Jordan (40), James Harden (40 in 2019), all the way down to LeBron James who had his 21. Can KD stretch again and match any of these records? Only time will tell.
The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Knicks in a great showdown of depth
The Nets played against the Knicks without Kyrie Irving or Caris LeVert. While Kyrie is out because of Covid protocols, Caris did not get any playtime after the news of his movement from the Nets broke.
However, the Nets’ win still proved that they are an extremely dangerous squad even without the bigger names. KD scored 26 points and received immense support from six other players who scored in double figures. The most outstanding performance came from Joe Harris who started for the team to score 15 points, 14 rebs, and 2 assists in 30 minutes of play.
The Brooklyn Nets are again picking up, and this is news that other teams must watch out for.
