Kyrie Irving takes over as Nets top Raptors for first win of season

Now that’s more like it.

Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and Kevin Durant added 27 as the Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors, 109-105, on Friday night at Barclays Center for their first win of the season.

The victory was a much-needed bounce-back from the Nets’ alarm bell-ringing 22-point loss to New Orleans in their season opener on Wednesday.

“I just thought we played really hard,” coach Steve Nash said. “It’s not always pretty right now as we try to figure it out and put the pieces together. We talked after Wednesday about raising our standards. We never gave in. We’re team-building and making connections.”

Irving had four assists and scored 13 points in the final quarter, including a 21-footer with 1:27 left, after which the Nets never trailed. After Gary Trent Jr. tied the score with a layup, Durant hit a three-pointer to put the Nets ahead for good. Royce O’Neal, who started off 1-for-6, hit a huge three with 15.3 seconds left that sealed the win.

“Ky was the head of the snake,” Durant said. “He really got us going . . . He can score from anywhere.”

Nic Claxton also had an impressive game, pairing 19 points with 11 rebounds. Ben Simmons showed some improvement from his poor first game as a Net, finishing with six points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

“We can’t have Kyrie and KD trying to do everything,” Claxton said. “I embraced the challenge. That’s who I am as a player.”

Toronto (1-1) was led by Pascal Siakam’s 37 points and 11 rebounds.

The Nets went on an 18-1 run that spanned the second and third quarters and ended with a three-point play by Irving that gave them an 86-79 lead with 9:43 left in the period.

The Nets wanted to get off to a strong start, wanted to do something to make everyone forget about the embarrassing first four minutes of their loss to New Orleans. The Nets let the Pelicans take an 11-2 lead and were never able to gain control of the game.

“We talked about being focused to start games,” Nash said before the game. “Just missing assignments early in the game is not a good sign for our level of focus, so we’re trying to set new standards and make sure that we’re not skipping steps at any part of this process. I think that is No. 1, to start the game with more intent, more purpose, more decisiveness, and see where we go from there.”

The Raptors led 52-49 after a close first half that featured eight lead changes and neither team leading by more than nine points.

The game was Joe Harris’ first since he injured his ankle almost a year ago on Nov. 14, and he got a big cheer when he came off the bench six minutes into the game. Harris, who underwent two ankle surgeries in the past year, scored his first points of the season on a three-pointer that gave the Nets a 23-22 lead with a little more than two minutes left in the first quarter.

Harris played just under 18 minutes, shooting 1-for-3. He admitted before the game to having some nerves heading into his first regular-season game in close to a year.

“Yeah, but I’m more excited than anything else,” he said. “I’m just grateful to get back on the court. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in the last 11 months. Just to get up and down and compete, that’s what I’m excited about.”