Kyrie Irving returned from suspension and scored 14 points, Ben Simmons was set to return to Philadelphia with a season-high 22 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the decimated Memphis Grizzlies 127-115 on Sunday.
Kevin Durant scored 26 points and with what he has had at least 25 in 17 games this season. It’s the longest streak to start a season since Rick Barry had 25 in 1966-67.
But it was the scoring quality of the rest of the Nets that was surprising. Simmons had his first game of at least 20 points since the 2021 postseason with the 76ers and Yuta Watanabe had 16.
Dillon Brooks had 31 points for the Grizzlies, who were without star Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Nets announced that Irving would be available to play Sunday after apologizing to anyone who felt threatened or hurt after posting a link to a documentary containing anti-Semitic material on Twitter.
The team suspended him days later after refusing to apologize or clarify his beliefs, and he missed eight games.