Kyrie Irving

Nets guard Kyrie Irving put together one of the most impressive offensive halves of basketball in recent NBA history during Tuesday's win over the Magic, ...

He appeared to be in a little bit of discomfort with a small cut but stayed in the game after getting his thumb wrapped. Irving said he would be in attendance for Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks at Barclays Center and joked that he would "probably wear a media pass." "But showing up there with my family and getting a warm embrace from New York, Brooklyn, just everybody that's there to support the Nets and support our organization, support me. "Probably the air-ball," Irving said with a laugh. "To be honest with you. It was at that moment he knew his night was different. "Sixteen in the first and then midway through the second all of us on the bench are still looking -- it's just like that every game for Ky, when you look up and, like, 'Damn, he got 10, 12, 14 points already.' By the end of the half, the Orlando crowd was cheering Irving every time he hit a shot, a trend that gained even more energy throughout the game. "But I wouldn't be able to sit up here and talk to you guys comfortably unless I had a big supporting group behind me. Irving, 29, who finished the game 20-for-31 from the field, 8-for-12 from beyond the arc and 12-for-13 from the free throw line, set multiple records with his first-half showing. It was a performance that left both his teammates and coaches in awe. He gets wherever he wants and is able to finish amongst the trees.

It didn't take long for another 60-point game in the NBA. One night after Karl-Anthony Towns went off for 60, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving did the same ...

Magic: G Jalen Suggs did not play for the third time in five games after re-injuring his right ankle on Sunday night. Durant scored 53 points in a win against the New York Knicks on Sunday. Coach Steve Nash said both players might be available Wednesday night against Dallas. ... The Nets won three of four against the Magic this season. He's crafty enough and he's seen every coverage and he knows how to play with a pace. ``That's the true purity of this game, doing it efficiently on both ends of the floor and coming out with a W.'' Neither Durant nor Irving played in the loss. ``There's times he's shooting over two people,'' said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. ``You try to double-team him, he's smart enough to know when to go and when not to go. ``We're seeing a lot of talent displayed every night, and this was one of the elite ones.'' He's fast in transition so you can't speed up and try to deny him. Irving shot 20 for 31, including 8 of 12 on 3-pointers, in 35 minutes. Tough ones, with double-teams and triple-teams coming,'' he said. Irving scored a career-high 60 points, most in the Nets' NBA history, to lead Brooklyn to a 150-108 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.

Kyrie Irving hung 60 points on the Orlando Magic seemingly halting their progress. How the team responds exiting this game will be a test of their growth.

Same with Sunday’s opponent in the Oklahoma City Thunder. It is a chance to pick the team back up. That will not be a great measure, but it will be a good team to bounce back against. This Magic team is simply not talented enough to withstand that. But the game is over. This is inevitably the result when that happens and the team provides little resistance or does nothing to knock those superstars off rhythm. Perhaps it is unfair to judge the team on this opponent. But this was the house collapsing, a crack in the foundation. But Orlando was chasing the game from the start and unable to get any stops anywhere. The Magic should be feeling they are playing consistent enough to prevent falling behind by 30 points — let alone losing by 42. After that, I think they are really hard to stop once they are in a rhythm.” But this is a potentially major setback — like the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies a few weeks ago — for a team that is trying to build its defensive identity. Tip your hat to the team and what they’ve done.