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Kevin Durant knows how to trash-talk. The 12-time All-Star was in a very good mood as the Brooklyn Nets got their first win of the season against the Miami Heat on Saturday night. Durant tallied 23 points, five assists and three steals as the Nets won their fourth and final season matchup 110-95 versus the Heat.
It was an easy win for the Brooklyn Nets. They led 67-46 at the half, with their lead burgeoning to as many as 37 points in the third quarter. Durant had 19 points at the end of the first two quarters, with Kyrie Irving contributing 10 points at the halfway mark.
With Brooklyn pulling off the statement win against the Miami Heat, Kevin Durant took a shot at the other NBA team from New York. He ribbed a Knicks reporter for covering the Nets before his post-game media interaction:
"That's the biggest team in the...I thought the Nets were irrelevant?"
The context for Durant's jibe is that the Knicks have always been considered New York's preeminent NBA team. The Nets, on the other hand, have traditionally not enjoyed the kind of limelight the Knicks do. However, with the Knicks being 10 games under 0.500 this season, the eighth-placed Brooklyn Nets certainly hold bragging rights over them.
Kevin Durant and Brooklyn Nets will be aiming to avoid play-in tournament
Counting their latest win against the Miami Heat, the Brooklyn Nets have now won seven of their last nine games. They currently own a 39-35 record while having eight games left to play in the regular season. The Nets are three games adrift of the sixth-placed Toronto Raptors and two behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The good news for Kevin Durant and the Nets in this context is that they can avoid the play-in tournament entirely if they post a strong finish over the course of the next two weeks. With Kyrie Irving now eligible to play home games, the Nets will fancy their chances in all eight remaining matchups. Moreover, they have to play only two of their last eight games on the road, with one of those road opponents being the New York Knicks on April 6.
Nonetheless, with Durant averaging 29.5 ppg on 52.3% shooting, the Brooklyn Nets are primed to represent New York, unlike their illustrous intra-city rivals, in the 2022 Playoffs.
