Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets walks off the court after scoring 50 points and defeating the Charlotte Hornets during their game at Spectrum Center on March 08, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images/AFP
Kyrie Irving used torrid shooting to compile a season-high 50 points as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the host Charlotte Hornets 132-121 on Tuesday night.
The Nets snapped a four-game losing streak largely because of Irving, who shot 15-for-19 from the field, including 9-for-12 on 3-point attempts. He picked up other points on 11-for-13 free-throw shooting.
🔥 50 PTS, 9 3PM 🔥
Kyrie hangs and knocks down a tough lay-up for his 50th point of the night! pic.twitter.com/jxRg2tBkkB
— NBA (@NBA) March 9, 2022
Irving has played in a limited number of games this season because of his unvaccinated status and restrictions that have prevented him from playing in home games. His previous season-high point total came Feb. 26 with 38 points in a loss at Milwaukee.
Irving, who played his 17th game of the season, entered the night averaging 24.7 points.
“It was special all the way around… It’s a total team effort.”
Postgame with the man of the hour 🔊 pic.twitter.com/XlTot0xKL7
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 9, 2022
Andre Drummond racked up 20 points and 14 rebounds, Bruce Brown and Kevin Durant both had 14 points and Patty Mills added 12 points for Brooklyn, which produced its second-highest point total of the season. The production was sparked by 56.1 percent shooting from the field.
Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier each poured in 30 points, LaMelo Ball had 24 points and reserve Kelly Oubre Jr. posted 15 points for the Hornets, who lost for the ninth time in their past 11 home games. They entered the game on their first two-game winning streak overall since late January.
The teams began the night with matching 32-33 records, so playoff positioning was a stake even though there’s more than a month remaining in the regular season.
Irving also contributed six assists.
The Hornets hit just 13-for-41 (31.7 percent) from 3-point range while the Nets were 18 of 35 (51.4 percent).
Irving had 20 points by halftime, when the Nets held a 69-43 advantage. Brooklyn scored 34 points in the first quarter and 35 in the second quarter.
Charlotte cut what had been a 34-point gap to 120-107 with four minutes to play but never made a serious threat.