The Brooklyn Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their ninth consecutive game, their longest win streak since 2006. Brooklyn now has the League’s longest active win streak, extending their season-best road win streak to five. The Nets are also a League-best 10-1 in December.
The Nets have beaten the Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Wizards, Raptors, Pistons, Warriors, Bucks, and the Cavs, 125-117 on Monday to continue a win-streak tied for the longest in the NBA this season. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving dropped 32 points apiece to outlast a monster 46-point effort from Darius Garland, who single-handedly brought the Cavs back after scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter.
However, Kai and KD responded to Garland’s onslaught by scoring a combined 21 points on 7-10 shooting, 3-5 from beyond the arc. Durant and Irving have scored 30 points in the same game five times this season, tied for the most such games with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The All-Star duo’s big-time contributions have helped raise Brooklyn’s ceiling to the point they look like championship contenders again after 13 of their last 14 contests. As of Tuesday, Brooklyn is first in offense (120.1 offensive rating) and 10th in defense (111.9 defensive rating) in the previous 14 games.
“To be honest, we’ve always been about basketball,” said Durant, per ESPN. “The outside noise makes it seem like we don’t care about the game, but so many voices speak about our locker room who don’t have any idea what’s going on.
“We’ve always been about the game.”
The @BrooklynNets are in the midst of their longest winning streak since 2006 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) December 27, 2022
Peep the best play from all 9 games! pic.twitter.com/jLuPLlUdxi
The win streak coincided with Durant passing five-time champion Tim Duncan (26,496 points)after he dropped a 20-footer in the second quarter.
“At some point, you’ve got to be able to celebrate some small wins,” Durant said of overtaking Duncan. “To be able to pass a legend, it’s something I’ll call my folks about tonight. I know that I’ve got more to do.”
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 27, 2022
Brooklyn has a chance to lengthen their streak with a Wednesday night contest against the Hawks on the road.
