Kevin Durant Asked How He Felt Playing Against Kyrie Irving
The ex-Nets stars faced off for the first time since their trades out of Brooklyn.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving took the court on Sunday, this time playing for opposite teams following their departures from the Nets at the NBA trade deadline. Now with the Suns and Mavericks, respectively, Brooklyn’s former superstar tandem is focused on the next chapters of their careers.
Durant indicated as much when asked about how it felt to play against Irving, who, just one month ago, was his teammate on the Nets. KD didn’t play up the matchup, however, indicating that there were no added emotions involved when playing against Irving.
“No emotions at all. It’s another game,” said Durant to reporters. “Most of my career I played against Kyrie. He was on my team for the last couple years, but majority of my career I played against him, so I know how that feels.”
It was all business for Durant and Phoenix during Sunday’s win in Dallas, and the two-time NBA Finals MVP suggested he expects Irving to feel the same way.
"I just think that we're both locked in on the floor... going out there trying to be the best we can be," said Durant of himself and Irving.
KD dropped a game-high 37 points in the victory, aided by the 36 points Devin Booker poured in. On the other end, Irving had 30 points, while Luka Dončić led the Mavericks with 36.
The project in Brooklyn didn't work out, culminating in the organization facilitating trades for both Irving and Durant. Now in their new situations, the two ex-Nets stars were pitted against one another for the first time, but it doesn't appear there's any animosity between them.