Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant enjoy banter with Knicks fans
Kyrie Irving #11 and Kevin Durant #7 of the Nets react late during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant want to let Knicks fans in on a little secret.
They love bantering with you on social media. They enjoy some of the exchanges they’ve had over the past three years since they picked the Nets over the Knicks in free agency. Irving particularly likes ghosting fans when he is pressed for a reason.
“I really don’t give an explanation,” Irving told reporters after the Nets defeated the Knicks, 110-98, at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. “You guys know me. I throw darts in the air and just wait for people to assume whatever they want . . . I think it’s all in good fun. They had a good chance of getting us back in free agency, but we just felt like we just wanted to build here and make our mark on this franchise, and I don’t think we regret our decision.”
Irving, who grew up in New Jersey, appreciates the passion of New York fans regardless of whether they cheer for the Knicks or the Nets. He seemed to enjoy the short exchange he had with a Knicks fan outside the tunnel at halftime when the Nets were down by 17. “East Coast basketball at its finest,” Irving said. “People just yelling random [stuff] from the crowd. Want a reaction, they got one.”
Durant, who had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the fourth quarter, said it’s hard to imagine the kind of tweets he gets from Knicks fans.
“Knicks fans are still [ticked] off. Little jabs here and there,” he said. “Like I said, there’s always love in the streets when I see the Knicks fans. Always love at the games. It’s a good rivalry to be a part of. Everybody who steps into our building will realize how big games these games are. It felt like a home game to us. And last two times, it felt like a home game to the Knicks when they come to the Barclays. That’s what basketball is all about. Stuff like that.”
Of course, one reason the Nets could be so giddy was that they got a win they needed, putting them one step closer to getting a home play-in game. If the Nets win their final two games against Cleveland on Friday and Indiana on Sunday, they will host a play-in game Tuesday, according to a schedule released Thursday by the NBA.
Heading into Thursday night’s play, the Nets had a 78% chance of finishing in seventh or eighth place, according to playoffstatus.com.There is a huge advantage to finishing 7-8 as opposed to 9-10 as a team has two chances to get the one win it needs to advance to the playoffs. If the Nets fall to 9-10, they will have to win two games to get the No. 8 seed.
Notes & quotes: The Nets waived James Johnson, paving the way to convert Kessler Edwards from a two-way to a standard NBA contract and make him eligible for the playoffs.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
