Kyrie Irving made his return to the Brooklyn Nets side for the first time in seven months but you would not know that according to head coach Steve Nash and teammate Kevin Durant.
The pair were full of praise for 29-year-old Irving who had not played all season due to his vaccination status which meant he would be unavailable for home games in New York City, with the Nets not wanting him on a part-time basis.
The franchise changed their tune a fortnight ago, permitting him for road games, amid a COVID-19 outbreak which depleted their playing stocks. Irving had returned to practice and found his fitness before he played for the first time this season in Wednesday's 129-121 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Irving was on court for 32 minutes, scoring 22 points making nine-of-17 from the field along with three rebounds, four assists and three steals. The win also halted the Nets' three-game skid.
"He looks like himself," Nash said at the post-game news conference. "Not a big surprise watching him play in practice, he's so gifted and talented, you could see the rhythm was there.
"But it's still an adaptation. We've got to give him some space as he transitions back to playing but tonight he was big."
Durant scored 39 points with eight rebounds and seven assists as the Nets improved to 24-12 to sit second in the east behind the Chicago Bulls (25-10).
"It was amazing to have him out there," Durant told reporters. "I missed his presence around the locker room, his energy and his vibe around the team.
"On top of that, his game is just so beautiful. He makes the game so much easier for everybody out there.
"I'm sure he was a bit nervous but he got comfortable. He made some athletic plays. It looked like he'd be around for a while."
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points upon his return to the Brooklyn Nets side for the first time this season as they came from behind to beat the Indiana Pacers 129-121 and snap a three-game skid on Wednesday.
Irving had been ruled out of the entire regular season by the Nets due to his vaccination status but the franchise changed their stance a fortnight ago, permitting him to play road games.
The 29-year-old point guard played 32 minutes, making nine-of-17 from the field along with three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Irving's return reunited the 'big three' alongside Kevin Durant (39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists) and James Harden (18 points, five rebounds and six assists).
The Pacers had led 73-60 at half-time with a biggest lead of 19 points before Brooklyn rallied with an 8-0 run to end the third quarter, before Patty Mills put them ahead with a fourth-quarter three-pointer.
Domantas Sabonis recorded a triple-double for the Pacers with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Popovich brings up 2,000th in style
Gregg Popovich coached the San Antonio Spurs for the 2,000th time, recording his 1,325th win in charge as they beat the Boston Celtics 97-95 with Jaylen Brown's lay-up buzzer beater rimming out. Brown scored 30 points with six rebounds, while Dejounte Murray had 22 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists for the Spurs.
Bojan Bogdanovic (36 points, 13 rebounds and four assists) won the battle of the Balkan stars against Nikola Jokic as the Utah Jazz edged the Denver Nuggets 115-109. The reigning MVP was exceptional for the Nugs with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists.
Joel Embiid scored 31 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Orlando Magic 116-106, while Giannis Antetokounmpo was absent with a non-COVID-related illness as the Milwaukee Bucks lost 117-111 to the Toronto Raptors with Pascal Siakam netting 33 points.
Curry goes cold for Warriors
Stephen Curry had an ordinary shooting night, going five-of-24 from the field and one-of-nine from beyond the arc as the Golden State Warriors lost 99-82 to the Dallas Mavericks. Curry finished with 14 points with nine rebounds while Mavs All-Star Luka Doncic had 26 points with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for the Miami Heat ahead of their game at the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Five-time All Star Butler had to be helped from the court after suffering an ankle injury during Monday's loss to the Golden State Warriors.
And the Heat will have to do without the swingman, who is averaging 23.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists this season, as they look to avoid a third straight NBA defeat.
Butler has already missed 15 games so far in 2021-22, some due to issues with the same right ankle, while he also had a tailbone injury.
The team did not provide any further details on his status other than ruling him out of the game against the Trail Blazers.
Miami had won five games in a row prior to consecutive road losses against the Sacramento Kings and the Warriors, who won 115-108 with Butler forced off towards the end of the third quarter.
The team sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 23-15 record, having made it to the NBA Finals last season.
Miami were already due to be without Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson against Portland (14-22).
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel says LeBron James scoring 14 final-quarter points and leading the side to victory over the Sacramento Kings is "just who he is".
James had shot six-of-17 from the field for the game, before stepping up in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers past the Kings 122-114 on Tuesday.
The four-time MVP finished with 31 points, sinking two three-pointers in a row with under five minutes to go, turning around his shooting struggles from earlier in the game.
"You always know that's a possibility," Vogel said at the post-game news conference. "If he's not having a good shooting night, like anybody, you coach him.
"You have to coach him like everybody else but you never lose belief that he's going to do what he did in the fourth quarter. That's just who he is.
"If anything, I think the tweaks we made tonight were about what he was doing on the defensive side.
"He was exerting energy trying to double down. We had to pull back some of that."
The victory means the Lakers have won three in a row after a recent five-game skid, improving to 20-19.
James has averaged 28.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game this season.
LeBron James powered the Los Angeles Lakers to a hard-fought 122-144 win over the Sacramento Kings with a last-quarter barrage on Tuesday.
James finished with 31 points including 14 in the fourth quarter along with five rebounds and five assists for the game to help the Lakers improve to 20-19.
With the Lakers trailing 102-101 with less than five minutes to go, the four-time MVP hit back-to-back three-pointers to claim the ascendancy.
Malik Monk contributed 24 points for the Lakers, while Russell Westbrook had 19 points and seven rebounds.
De'Aaron Fox scored 30 points with three rebounds and six assists for the Kings who move to 16-23.
Paul and Booker shine for Suns
Chris Paul provided 15 assists alongside his 11 points as the west's second seeds, the Phoenix Suns, defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 123-110. Devin Booker scored 33 points for the Suns with nine rebounds and four assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 25 points with 16 rebounds for the Pels.
The Memphis Grizzlies secured their sixth straight win with a 110-106 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers led by Ja Morant with 26 points, five rebounds and six assists. Darius Garland (27 points and 10 assists) and Kevin Love (18 points and 10 rebounds) were good for the Cavs.
Sabonis struggles from stripe
Domantas Sabonis struggled from the stripe making five-of-12 free-throws while he was bossed by Julius Randle as the Indiana Pacers were beaten 104-94 by the New York Knicks. Sabonis only managed 15 points with eight rebounds, while Randle scored 30 points with 16 rebounds. The Pacers have lost five in a row.
Kevin Durant questioned the intensity shown by the Brooklyn Nets after they suffered a home defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Nets lost for a third game running on Monday, with Ja Morant starring for the Grizzlies at Barclays Center.
Morant scored a game-high 36 points as the Grizzlies won 118-104, claiming a fifth consecutive victory.
While Memphis had five players in double figures for points, the Nets relied on the shooting prowess of Durant and fellow star James Harden.
Durant led the way with 26 points, three rebounds and six assists, with Harden adding a further 19 points, four rebounds and eight assists, but other than Nic Claxton (11), no other Brooklyn player had above 10 points.
Now 23-12 and behind the Chicago Bulls at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Nets have to recover before facing the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Durant said Brooklyn "relaxed too much" after the defeat to a depleted Los Angeles Clippers team last time out, and the 11-time All-Star put Brooklyn's latest defeat down to a lack of urgency.
"It's about coming into the games with a sense of urgency on both ends of the floor," Durant told reporters. "Making the correct play on both ends of the floor."
While Durant's frustration with the Nets' performance was evident, he was full of praise for the game's star performer Morant.
The 22-year-old leads the Grizzlies for points per game (25.1), and assists per game (6.7), while his 5.7 rebounds per game ranks him second in Memphis' roster.
Morant's field goal percentage of 49.2 is up on his previous seasons (47.7 in 2019-20 and 44.9 in 2020-21), while he is well on course for a career-best points tally.
"He's just controlling the game," Durant said of Morant.
"He's always been an efficient player who can run the point guard spot, he's developed into a major scorer as well. He just plays with a great pace out there, plays with joy and enthusiasm, and you see him blossoming in front of our eyes.
"Since college, he's been on this trajectory. As a basketball fan, you can't wait to see what he's like in years going forward."
It was a sentiment echoed by Morant's team-mate Desmond Bane, who contributed 29 points to the Grizzlies' score.
"People will debate whether or not [Morant] should be an All-Star," Bane said of Morant. "I think we should be debating whether or not he's the best point guard in the league."
For his part, Morant believes Memphis are finally getting the respect they deserve.
"Since I [came] here, I've been saying we deserve more respect," Morant said. "The stuff we're doing now, obviously that recognition and everything will come."
The Brooklyn Nets suffered a third straight defeat as Ja Morant inspired the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, while the Milwaukee Bucks also slipped up.
Morant scored a game-leading 36 points to lead the Grizzlies to a 118-104 victory – Memphis' fifth successive win.
He was ably supported by Desmond Bane (29 points), Brandon Clarke (16), Jarret Culver and Tyus Jones (both 12), with Kevin Durant and James Harden unable to prevent the Nets' recent slump continuing.
Memphis' victory at the Barclays Center was taken in by Antonio Brown, the NFL wide receiver who was dismissed as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer after his remarkable walk-out against the New York Jets on Sunday.
While the Grizzlies travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Tuesday, Brooklyn must lick their wounds after relinquishing top spot in the Eastern Conference to the Chicago Bulls, who edged out the Orlando Magic 102-98 to win an eighth straight game.
Pistons stun Bucks
The Pistons had the worst record in the league heading into their clash with reigning champions Milwaukee, but Saddiq Bey's career-high 34 points saw Detroit overcome the odds.
Milwaukee's six-game winning streak was snapped by a 115-106 reverse, with a 31-point turn from talisman Giannis Antetokounmpo not enough.
It was a stunning result for the Pistons, who had lost 12 straight regular-season games to the Bucks by an average of 16.7 points heading into the game – while Milwaukee had also downed Detroit four times in the 2019 playoffs.
Detroit are now 7-28 for the season, meaning it is the Magic who have the league's worst winning percentage. The Bucks must now bounce back against the Toronto Raptors, who beat them in December, on Wednesday.
Jazz get back on the horse
The Utah Jazz responded to their defeat to Western Conference leaders the Golden State Warriors with a 115-104 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Donovan Mitchell was the standout performer, topping up his game-high 29 points with three rebounds and five assists. It is now nine road wins in a row for the Jazz, who sit third in the West behind the Warriors and the Phoenix Suns.
While the Suns are at New Orleans on Tuesday, Golden State kept themselves secure at the top by collecting a fifth win in six games with a 115-108 victory at home to the Miami Heat.
Doncic and Embiid lift Mavs, Sixers
Luka Doncic claimed another double-double with 21 points and a joint season-high 15 assists to propel the Dallas Mavericks to a convincing 103-89 triumph over the Denver Nuggets.
Doncic's team may have come out on top, but fellow Balkan star Nikola Jokic led the game with 27 points, adding 16 rebounds, albeit last season's MVP could not stop Denver having a three-game winning run ended.
The Mavs are sixth in the West, one place behind Denver but having won a game more.
Joel Embiid, meanwhile, is a player well in the running to take Jokic's regular-season MVP crown, and he turned in a brilliant display in the Philadelphia 76ers 133-113 rout of the Houston Rockets.
Embiid turned in a fourth straight 30-point game with a triple-double of 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
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