Return of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving has Nets seeing stars in preseason opener

It was just a teaser, the preseason opener against an undermanned Wizards roster resting star guards Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook Sunday night in an empty Barclays Center. But the return of long-injured superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was a sight to behold and one that suggests they really can turn the Nets into title contenders.

The Nets have a league-low two preseason games, including another one Friday in Boston before they open the season at home against Golden State on Dec. 22. It’s a short preparation time for Durant, who played for the first time in 18 months after missing last season to recover from Achilles tendon surgery, and for Irving, who sat out the past nine months after undergoing shoulder surgery.

First-year coach Steve Nash said before the game he hoped to play both his stars at least 20 minutes and then get closer to a normal dose of minutes and intensity against the Celtics to prepare for the regular season. The key is balancing playing time against preserving the health of Durant and Irving.

“Two exhibitions games is a short ramp-up,” Nash said. “It’s not necessarily ideal. There is plenty of need for us to get out there and play and replicate the game so they can adapt physically, mentally, emotionally so they can come together and gain some cohesion in a real setting.

“So, we’re going to try to give guys a good look out there tonight and make the most of the exhibition game. You can have a plan, but you never know how it goes when the game starts. But the idea is to get them plenty of reps, plenty of opportunities to play together and plenty of different lineups.”

Nash must have welcomed the sight of Durant and Irving playing together and dominating from the outset because he left them on the floor the first 9:27 of the game, and they each had 17 minutes in the bank by halftime, when the Nets’ lead was at 68-50 after reaching a high of 26 points midway through the second quarter.

Durant and Irving looked as though they never had been away, and both handled contact fearlessly. The opening quarter was an absolute revelation. The Nets finished on an extended 27-13 run for a 38-20 lead, and Durant and Irving each had nine points during that stretch and totaled 23 overall. The Nets shot 76.5 percent from the field in the opening period (13 of 17).

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The Nets had a 22-point lead in the second quarter when Durant and Irving re-entered. They quickly pushed it to 26 at 61-35 with a stunning sequence of three great offensive possessions. Irving hit a left-wing three, and after a Wizards basket, Irving threw a long outlet up the left-side to Durant for a driving dunk. After a Wizards miss, Taurean Prince hit a left-wing three.

By halftime, Irving had 18 points, Durant had 15, and Spencer Dinwiddie, who started at shooting guard in place of injured Caris LeVert (bruised patella), had eight points, five rebounds and six assists. The Nets still were a sizzling 63.9 percent from the field (23 of 36) while holding the Wizards to 37.3 percent shooting. The Nets also had a whopping 24-7 advantage in free-throw attempts as Durant, Dinwiddie and Irving combined to get to the line for 16 attempts.

Irving remained on the bench in the second half. The Wizards scored the first 12 points of the third quarter, and they actually tied the game at 79 on a baseline jumper by Cassius Winston with 4:21 left a period that ended with the Nets leading, 90-84. By then, Durant had joined Irving on the bench after a scoreless seven minutes and 24 total in his first game back.

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.