Kyrie Irving shakes off cool start in season debut for Nets, scores 22

It had been a roller coaster to get here, but Kyrie Irving made his season debut for the Brooklyn Nets against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Mired in a three-game losing streak, the Nets (23-12 coming into the game) were hoping that Irving's addition in the road game would get them back on track.

Mission accomplished. 

The Nets ended their three-game skid with a 129-121 win against the Pacers, buoyed by a 35-20 final quarter in which Irving contributed 10 of his 22 points for the game.

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 39 points, while James Harden dropped 18 to help counter a stunning performance from Pacers forward Lance Stephenson, who scored 20 straight points for Indiana in the first quarter.

As for the backstory on the Irving saga, here is a quick recap (via the Associated Press):

Irving has been unable to play at home and for much of the season because of New York City’s vaccination mandate and was unwelcome on the road. The Nets didn’t want a part-time player, so they sent him away during the preseason.

Things changed. Nash said with the recent COVID-19 outbreak that left the Nets severely short-handed, having the superstar part-time was a better option than signing more players to 10-day hardship contracts.

"So why not bring him back?" Nash said.

Before Irving took the floor, Chris Broussard of "First Things First" said he believed Irving could still add to the Nets this season.

"I am excited to see Kyrie back," Broussard said Wednesday. "It certainly adds some excitement into the regular season. … What it does is It improves [the Nets'] chances of winning the championship. … They don't look like a team that can win the title –– maybe even the Eastern Conference –– without Kyrie Irving playing some of the games."

The hype around Irving's return was certainly real.

Irving –– who currently can play only in road games –– was expected to play 30 minutes for the Nets in his return and made the starting lineup alongside Harden, Durant, David Duke Jr. and Nic Claxton. Irving wound up playing just shy of 32 minutes.

Here is how the game flowed from start to finish:

While most neutral fans waited on Irving to get going, the home fans in Indy were in for a treat in the first quarter.

Stephenson, who last suited up for the Pacers in 2017-18, made his home debut at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with an other-worldly opening quarter.

After putting up a zero in the points department in the first 12 minutes, Irving settled into a groove in the second quarter.

His first points of the season came on a pull-up jumper just below the free-throw line.

After hitting another jumper, Irving picked up his second steal of the game and was sent to the line on a shooting foul, and he drained a pair.

Then, in transition, he hit a runner off the glass to give him a quick eight points before the nine-minute mark hit in the quarter, prompting the Pacers to call a timeout.

With the Nets down 101-92 and time running out in the third quarter, Irving rose up to hit a jumper, beating the buzzer and trimming the score to 101-94 with his 11th and 12th points of the game.

Even though Irving hadn't played in an NBA game this season, he showed off his ability to bulldoze to the rim and get a basket late in the fourth quarter.

When all was said and done, Irving finished the game with 22 points in just short of 32 minutes of work. 

He went 9-for-17 from the floor and came up empty on two 3-point attempts but went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and added four assists, three rebounds and three steals.

His plus/minus of plus-16 was tops among all of Brooklyn's starters, as the Nets improved to 24-12.