Player grades: Kyrie Irving scores 27 as Nets beat Raptors in TJ Warren’s return

The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Toronto Raptors on Friday and won 114-105. The Nets have now won four games in a row overall and have won six games in a row at home.

Kyrie Irving scored 27 points on efficient shooting and had five assists while Kevin Durant had 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Joe Harris chipped in with 17 big points and TJ Warren played in his first NBA game in 703 days and scored 10 points.

Pascal Siakam had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors as OG Anunoby had 21 points and six rebounds. Scottie Barnes had 17 points and nine rebounds while Gary Trent Jr. score 16 points off the bench for Toronto.

The Nets won the first quarter 41-17 as they could not miss a shot behind the likes of Irving and Harris going off. The Raptors could not make a shot in the early going and they weren’t able to provide much resistance on the defensive end.

The second half was a different story however. Through a combination of the Nets coming back to earth shooting the ball as well as the Raptors finally settling in, this became a game in the fourth quarter as the Nets started coasting.

In the end, Toronto could not recover from their dismal start and it cost them as the Nets did enough to finish the game with a win. Here are the player grades for the Nets’ players:

Kevin Durant: B

Durant had a passive start to this game as he allowed Irving and Harris to carry the offense. Durant still did everything, but score in the half as he focused on rebounding and protecting the rim. He took on more of the scoring load in the second half, but not at the expense of any other areas like crashing the boards.

Kyrie Irving: A+

Irving did his part in this game on the offensive end as he got any shot he wanted on the floor. He was able to make shots from anywhere on the court and his handle was working. Irving even played good defense in this game and was able to disrupt the Raptors’ offense on the perimeter.

Joe Harris: A

Harris was able to make his three-point shots as he looks more comfortable on the floor with each passing game. Harris had a tough time recovering from his ankle surgery, but in this game, he looked decisive as he took some shots that he was passing up earlier in the season. Harris did a good job of moving without the ball and he was able to find the open man a number of times.

Story continues

Royce O’Neale: B+

O’Neale had a solid night as he was efficient shooting the ball and he did a great job of crashing the boards to help out Durant and Claxton. As O’Neale as done all season, he played a crucial part in the offense by either taking the open shot or moving to someone else who had a better shot. He had turnover issues early in the game, but he was able to clean that up as the game went on.

Nic Claxton: C+

Claxton did a good job on the boards as he had to deal with the length of guys like Chris Boucher and Siakam. Claxton gave a good effort at protecting the rim as he picked up a couple of blocks in the early going. Unfortunately, Claxton struggled with foul trouble all night as he had trouble defending the pick-and-roll and maintaining verticality while contesting shots at the rim.

Seth Curry: D

Curry was an afterthought in this game offensively. He tried looking for his shot all night, but the length of the Raptors bothered him and prevented from getting any good looks at the rim. When he tried to create his own shot, he ended up turning the ball over as he did not have a good feel for this game.

Edmond Sumner: C+

Sumner had a decent game as he was able to provide some scoring in the early going. He played his role well by playing off of Durant and Irving while being ready to shoot the ball when open. As usual, Sumner played some pesky defense on the perimeter and picked up a couple of steals along the way.

Markieff Morris: C-

Morris had solid minutes off the bench as he was able to get a three-pointer to go. He did not do much else outside of that on offense, but he was able to play some tough defense while allowing O’Neale and Claxton to rest.

TJ Warren: A

After not playing an NBA game in 703 days, Warren was back to his scoring ways that most remember from the NBA playoffs in the bubble. Warren looked like the same guy as he was shooting over whoever was defending him and he was moving well while trying to break down his man using his dribble. Warren looked confident and appeared to be someone who can provide a good scoring punch off the bench every night.

Cam Thomas: D

Thomas was essentially a negative on the floor for the entire game. He wasn’t able to get much going on offense and his defense left a lot to be desired. He did play a part in allowing guys like Irving and Harris to rest, but other than that, Thomas did not help the Nets much in this game.

Story originally appeared on Nets Wire