Kyrie Irving can see "light at the end of the tunnel" after the best performance of his difficult season in the Brooklyn Nets' defeat of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Irving put up 38 points, as the Nets beat the reigning champions 126-123 on the road on Saturday.
With Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons sidelined, Irving stepped up with a strong performance, finishing 14-of-26 shooting to overshadow Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It was a glimpse of a possibly exciting end to the season for the Nets and Irving, whose appearances have been limited by the vaccine mandate in New York City.
The 29-year-old, who is unvaccinated, has only been able to play in road games until now, but New York City mayor Eric Adams said this week that the mandate is likely to be phased out as cities across the United States begin to remove their COVID-19 restrictions.
"I'm glad that things are kind of settling down and there's light at the end of the tunnel here," Irving said. "Hopefully, I can get back on that home floor playing in the Barclays, and now we can finally have that conversation that you've been dying to have just about turning the page and moving forward beyond this.
"But like I said, I'm not the only one. I feel for everybody that's either in my boat or a similar boat or has dealt with some type of trauma from this. And just wishing everybody well-wishes, always."
On the prospect of New York's mandate being lifted, Irving said: "I'm following it as much as you guys are, so just remaining patient and just seeing where things end up in this next week or so, next two weeks, I'm not too sure, but I know as much as you do.
"And I want to say this: I'm very appreciative of all those that are pushing behind the scenes to make our world a better place.
"And with everything calming down with the COVID cases, the most important thing for me was just making sure everyone's okay. I've been on record saying this that it's not about me, that I don't want to feel like it's all on me, but the circumstances this year have not been ideal."
Irving has only played in 15 games this season but has maintained a points average of 25.1, above his career figure of 22.9. That is despite his field-goal percentage (45.9 per cent) dropping to its lowest since his penultimate season with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015-16.
He said he was grateful to NBA commissioner Adam Silver for suggesting the New York mandate "doesn't quite make sense" as unvaccinated opposition players were still allowed to play.
"I know his job is not easy, standing in the fire, sometimes, on behalf of our league," he added. "So my respect level went to a whole new one for him, and I'm just grateful that he did that, and he really took one for the team. And I'm grateful for that.
"But like I said, we want to set a great example for the world in what we're doing, and we try to stand for what's right and respect everyone else's decisions and their personal beliefs."
Los Angeles Lakers defeat Indiana Pacers to win inaugural In-Season Tournament
The Los Angeles Lakers are the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament champions after a 41-point effort from Anthony Davis propelled the side to a 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the final in Las Vegas.
Davis also had 20 rebounds, while LeBron James posted 24 points and 11 rebounds to help the Lakers become the first team to lift the NBA Cup.
James, now in his 21st year in the league, added to his extensive trophy cabinet by being named In-Season Tournament MVP.
Los Angeles led for most of the game, but Indiana responded to almost every Lakers run with one of their own to keep themselves within striking distance.
That all shifted late in the fourth quarter when the Lakers turned a four-point advantage into a 16-point lead and held on from there.
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, who had been the central figure in the Pacers’ run to the final, was targeted by the Lakers’ defence from the jump.
He was restricted to 20 points but managed to add 11 assists, while Bennedict Mathurin had 20 points off the bench.
NBA: Lakers beat Pacers to win inaugural In-Season Tournament behind Davis' 41 points and 20 rebounds
Anthony Davis had a monster game with season highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers, 123-109 on Saturday in Las Vegas to win the inaugural In-Season Tournament championship.
Davis shot 16 of 24 from the field and 9 of 13 from the foul line while adding five assists and four blocks.
Austin Reaves added 28 points and tournament MVP LeBron James had 24 and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which didn’t put the game away until a 15-3 run late in the fourth quarter turned a 100-96 lead into a 115-99 advantage.
The game was the only one in the tournament that didn’t count in the standings, but there was still plenty at stake.
In addition to a trophy, Lakers players on standard two-way contracts each made $500,000 and the Pacers received $200,000 apiece.
Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points and 11 assists and Benedict Mathurin also scored 20 as the Pacers suffered their first tournament loss after six wins.
Warriors 'good enough for championship', but Kerr demands mistakes stop after Thunder loss
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes his team are good enough to win the NBA championship, but only if they cut out the kind of errors which cost them against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
The Warriors slumped to 10-12 as they finished on the wrong side of a thrilling contest at Paycom Center, losing 138-136 in overtime.
Golden State led 62-56 at halftime before the Thunder rallied, with Stephen Curry – who finished with a team-high 34 points – making a series of big shots to keep them in the game past regulation.
From there, however, mistakes cost the Warriors as the Thunder scored eight points off four turnovers in the extra period, winning it when Chet Holmgren fed Luguentz Dort for a decisive layup.
Kerr's team have now lost their last five road games, the last three of those defeats coming by a combined margin of four points, and he knows errors are contributing to them finishing on the wrong side of the fine margins.
"We're good enough to win a championship," Kerr said after the game. "With this team. I believe that.
"But if we are just going to turn it over and throw the ball to the other team and foul over and over, then we're going to lose."
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 38 points for the Thunder, and despite the Warriors enduring an inconsistent campaign, he believes the way they fought back against the 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022 NBA champions was something of a statement.
"We've got a bunch of competitors on the team, guys that don't back down, guys that want to be great," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
"We all know that to be great, you've got to test yourself against the great.
"Obviously, that's a dynasty that came in here today, and there's been multiple games like that this year. When we play the best of the best, we rise to the challenge."
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