Due to New York City's vaccine mandate, Kyrie Irving entered Tuesday night's road matchup against the Orlando Magic with only four more opportunities to contribute to the Brooklyn Nets' playoff push. And in 35 minutes on the court, the seven-time All-Star didn't just make contributions -- he also made history.
Less than 24 hours after Karl-Anthony Towns recorded an NBA season-best 60 points with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Irving happened to match that mark in Amway Center. He scored 60 of his own on 20 of 31 shooting in the Nets' beatdown of the Magic, and a whopping 41 of the points were scored by halftime. Irving's 60 points were a career-high and a franchise record.
"Words can't illustrate what he did tonight. This man was crossing up and up and under, shooting from downtown," JR said during the JR SportBrief show on Tuesday. "We know that Irving is a difference-maker... If you want to talk about a dynamic scorer, I'd venture to say there hasn't been anybody more dynamic [in Nets history] than what we have here, with Durant and Irving.
"It's a damn shame he can't play in Brooklyn. Now, is Kyrie Irving capable of rolling out of bed and just dropping 60 any given night? Yes. But this has to be helping his cause. He's more well-rested than anybody -- he's absolutely amazing... If you've ever picked up a basketball in your life, that's what you call an out-of-body experience, where you don't think about anything but letting the ball go. And it goes in. Irving had an out-of-body experience."
In 23 first-half minutes, Irving went 14 of 19 from the field, 6 for 7 from behind the arc, and a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line. By the time he reached 41 points, the Amway Center crowd was cheering him on -- there hasn't been much excitement to this Magic (18-52) season, after all. The Nets' 86 first-half points also set a franchise record, and according to ESPN Stats & Info, it's the first time since 1962 that there've been 60-point games on consecutive days.
Irving, who made his regular season debut on Jan. 5, has played in just 19 of Brooklyn's 69 games, and is averaging 25.9 points, 5.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 36.2 minutes. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Nets (36-33) currently have a 73-percent chance to make the Eastern Conference playoffs, but just a 4-percent chance to reach the NBA Finals.
JR's complete thoughts on Irving's historic performance can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.
