Kevin Durant says it has been "camaraderie" within the Brooklyn Nets that helped put a difficult week behind them with a 98-94 comeback win over the Charlotte Hornets.
The small forward posted 27 points and helped his side erase a double-digit gap to earn back-to-back triumphs after victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Amid a seven-day stretch that saw Kyrie Irving suspended after initially refusing to apologise for promoting a movie and book with anti-Semitic overtones, and with head coach Steve Nash also dismissed, the going has been tough for the Nets.
Speaking after his side moved their record to 4-6 for the season, Durant reflected on what has been a strange period, but credited the team's resolve to keep the focus on their game as key to their revival.
"It was a unique experience for sure," he stated. "But a lot of guys been through different things in this league before, and a lot of guys have been through some adversity in this league off the court
"Having to lock back in and focus solely on the game, I think that we all get a little bit of solace in doing that.
"[It's] just playing the game of basketball, getting that camaraderie, that fellowship with your teammates, I think that was able to get us through.
"I just think we rallied around each other. It was a tough week for us. And it's always good to just get back to the game. Once the ball is tipped, [it all] goes out the window.
"I think everybody was just waiting to get back to playing. It's good for our character, it's good for the energy of the team and to fight through adversity."
The Milwaukee Bucks overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to reach a franchise-record ninth straight win to open the season with a 108-94 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Antetokounmpo was absent due to left knee soreness, but Brook Lopez delivered with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting including four three-pointers for the Bucks who are 9-0.
Jrue Holiday provided 13 assists with 10 points, while forward Bobby Portis pulled down 21 rebounds with 12 points.
Guards Jevon Carter and Grayson Allen scored five three-pointers each, contributing 18 and 19 points respectively for Milwaukee.
The Bucks shot 17-of-47 (36.2 per cent) from three-point range, while Portis' dominance in the paint helped them to 55-38 rebounds. Four of Portis' 21 rebounds were offensive.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander top scored for OKC with 18 points, while second-year guard Josh Giddey had 15 points with six rebounds.
Nets rally for back-to-back wins
Amid their off-court tumult, Kevin Durant led the Brooklyn Nets to back-to-back wins with a 98-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets rallying back after trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Durant scored a game-high 27 points, including a clutch jump shot to open up a four-point lead with 32 seconds remaining, along with seven rebounds. The win improved the Nets to 3-6.
Cam Thomas stepped up off the bench with 21 points for the Nets who were without Kyrie Irving (suspension) and Ben Simmons (knee soreness).
Celtics hit franchise-record, Suns move to 7-2
The Boston Celtics scored a franchise-record 27 three-pointers with six each from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as they got past the New York Knicks 133-118.
Tatum scored 26 points while Brown had a game-high 30 points, while Sam Hauser came off the bench to add five triples in his 17-point haul, with all nine of the Celtics used making a three-pointer.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns improved to 7-2 with a comfortable 102-82 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, with Devin Booker scoring 24 points.
Three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will miss the Minnesota Timberwolves' game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Gobert has twice previously tested positive for COVID-19, in January last year and in March 2020 when he was the first NBA player to do, following a now famous press conference.
The French center's positive COVID-19 test in March 2020 led to the NBA being halted.
Gobert played 30 minutes in Friday's 115-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks with an illness before the Timberwolves announced he had protocols on Saturday.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was not concerned about the potential impact of Gobert playing on Friday to the rest of the roster.
There is no longer any mandatory quarantine period for players who enter the NBA's health and safety protocols.
Three-time All-Star Gobert, who moved to the Timberwolves from the Utah Jazz in the offseason, is averaging 12.6 points and 13.9 rebounds this season.
Indiana Pacers guard Chris Duarte will likely miss four-to-six weeks after sustaining a Grade 2 ankle sprain in Friday's 101-99 victory over the Miami Heat.
Duarte was coming off a career-high, 30-point performance in Monday's 116-109 road loss to the Brooklyn Nets before stepping on the foot of Heat guard Kyle Lowry in the first quarter on Friday.
Duarte was a second-team All-Rookie selection last season after the 13th overall pick in 2021 averaged 13.1 points per game, sixth-most among all first-year players in the NBA.
He has averaged 8.9 points in nine games, including five starts, this season for an Indiana team that has won three of four following a 1-4 start.
LeBron James has spoken out against former team-mate Kyrie Irving, making it clear he does not condone his behaviour.
The Brooklyn Nets point guard has been issued a five-game suspension by his team for posting a documentary featuring anti-semitic material on Twitter, and subsequently falling short of apologising until after he was banned.
Irving has been widely criticised for his actions, with Nike terminating their relationship with the 30-year-old, while his fellow Nets star Kevin Durant believes the entire process has been "unnecessary".
James, who has long been one of the NBA's vocal leaders on social issues, is disappointed with what he has seen from his former Cleveland Cavaliers team-mate.
"It's simple. Me, personally, I don't condone any hate to any kinds, any race, to Jewish communities, to black communities, to Asian communities. You guys know where I stand," he said after the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday.
"I believe what Kyrie did caused some harm to a lot of people. He has since, today, or was it yesterday, apologised. But he caused some harm, and I think it's unfortunate.
"I don't stand on the position to harm people when it comes to your voice or your platform or anything.
"So, it doesn't matter what colour your skin is, how tall you are, what position you're in. If you are promoting or soliciting or saying harmful things to any community that harm people, then I don't respect it. I don't condone it."
The Nets did not struggle in Irving's absence on Friday, as they claimed a 128-86 win over the Washington Wizards, overseen by interim coach Jacque Vaughn.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham did not hold back when discussing his side's poor performance in their 130-116 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday, calling their defense "inept at best".
The Jazz came out of the blocks on fire, putting up 40 points in the first quarter and another 35 in the second to lead 75-62 at halftime.
While the Lakers were able to muster a solid third period, winning the frame 33-25 and trimming the lead to 100-95 heading into the fourth quarter, they failed to keep that momentum up and gave up another 30 points in the last.
Utah's 130 points is the biggest score a team has put up against the Lakers this season, with no team managing more than the Golden State Warriors' total of 123 on opening night.
Speaking to the media after the loss, Ham said it was incredibly disappointing to see his team lose the momentum they have been trying to build as they entered the contest off back-to-back wins.
"We took a huge step backwards tonight," he said. "Giving up 75 points in the first half, giving them at least three 30-plus point quarters, we can't play like that.
"We were good during different small stretches, but the overall picture that was painted, by us defensively, sucks.
"That's got to be in your DNA, and it's a process to get it to be that way – where you want to defend at a high level night-in and night-out.
"It's not comfortable, but it's fun. It has to be fun, you have to enjoy getting stops and holding teams to one possession. Rebounding the ball, getting hits, whether you retrieve the ball or not.
"Just the little things of the game – keeping the ball in front of you, getting down in your stance, sprinting back in transition.
"Unfortunately we have a huge laundry list of things we can show them – that we're going to show them tomorrow.
"This is the first game where I felt like we really weren't there defensively."
When asked about any offensive struggles in the fourth quarter, Ham reinforced that this loss had nothing to do with that side of the ball.
"There's 60,000 points in our locker room, so I'm not worried about our offense," he said.
"We've got to defend. We scored enough points tonight to win a game, but our defense was inept at best."
One Lakers player who did perform well was Russell Westbrook, with the maligned former MVP actually drawing "M-V-P" chants from the home crowd at one point.
He finished with a team-high 26 points on nine-of-14 shooting, hitting three-of-five from long range while adding six assists and two steals, but he said the energy from his side was not there from the jump.
"They just started off playing a lot faster than us," he said. "[We were a] step slow, and it showed. We tried to pick it up in the second half, but we put ourselves in a bad position early."
The Lakers are now 2-6 through their first eight games, and will host the 7-1 Cleveland Cavaliers in their next fixture on Sunday.
Kevin Durant was excited by the style of basketball on display from his Brooklyn Nets in their 128-86 thumping of the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Durant, in the first game since Kyrie Irving's suspension, was at the center of everything the Nets were doing, finishing with team-highs in points (28), assists (11) and rebounds (nine).
As a team, the Nets dished out a season-high 32 assists, making it the first time they have eclipsed 29 in a game this season.
That unselfishness was at the forefront of Durant's mind when discussing the game during his on-court interview, saying his team felt confident in their game-plan and excelled in their execution of it.
"In shootaround we had some good sets that we drew up, and we knew some of that stuff would work against this team," he said.
"We just stayed in it and moved the basketball all night – everybody touched it, everybody got into the paint – we were able to generate some good offense, and that's how we want to play moving forward.
"That's the name of the game, playing off each other and being able to compliment one another."
His starring performance was highlighted with an emphatic ankle-breaker as he crossed over Washington's Daniel Gafford, nearly making his defender do the splits.
"I really thought he slipped on some sweat there, so I can't take full credit for it," he said. "But I was glad it was able to get us some momentum and give me some space to do my thing. I'm glad I finished the shot too."
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn also pointed to his side's team-first playing style when asked in his post-game interview what the key was to the blowout win.
"Offensively, the 32 assists really stand out," he said. "Guys were really moving the basketball.
"Kevin [Durant] was a hub for us tonight. He really put them in a tough bind of double-teaming him, then he was a willing passer, and he capitalised whenever he had the opportunities to."
On Durant's nasty crossover, Vaughn said his inner-fan may have come out in his reaction.
"I hope the camera wasn't on me, to be honest with you," he said. "I enjoy the game of basketball, and [Durant] is a special human being, a special player in this league. He enjoys the game of basketball, and he's fun to watch."
The win leaves the Nets with a 3-6 record through nine games, although they have now won two of their past three.
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