Brooklyn Nets 136, Sacramento Kings 125: 3 highlights, 2 observations

The Brooklyn Nets bury the Sacramento Kings behind a barrage of three-pointers and a dominant performance by Kyrie Irving.

• Brooklyn Nets 136 (17-12)
• Sacramento Kings 125 (12-15)
• NBA, Final, Box Score
• Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

The Brooklyn Nets are scoring points at an alarming rate. Two nights after putting 134 up on the Golden State Warriors, the Nets topped that performance by dropping 136 on the Sacramento Kings.

Kyrie Irving and James Harden are terrorizing defenses in different ways. Irving is scoring at will while Harden is facilitating as Brooklyn’s floor general. All is well for the Nets right now.

Here are three highlights and two observations from Monday night’s dominant win over the Kings.

Highlight 1: Kyrie Irving Handles

Kyrie Irving's highlight package from this season is going to be insane pic.twitter.com/Exb4KWW2HM

— Danny Small (@dwsmall8) February 16, 2021

Highlight 2: Jeff Green Poster

Uncle Jeff Green still can get up there pic.twitter.com/pm5vt5D9EZ

— Danny Small (@dwsmall8) February 16, 2021

Highlight 3: 3-Point Record Breaker

Here's James Harden drilling a three to set a new franchise-best for made threes in a game. This was No. 25 but Brooklyn finished with 27 on the night pic.twitter.com/FEfIdMlovx

— Danny Small (@dwsmall8) February 16, 2021

Observation 1: Kyrie Irving Is Unbelievable

Kyrie Irving dropped 40 points on 22 shots in 31 minutes on Monday night in Sacramento. This is stating the obvious, but Irving is operating on a different plane of existence for the Nets this season.

The mercurial point guard is having the best year of his career and his move to shooting guard is going swimmingly. Irving is averaging 28.3 points per game on absurd 53/44/92 shooting splits.

When the Nets traded for Harden, there were questions about where Irving would fit into the picture. Would he be comfortable moving off the ball more to accommodate his new teammate? Would that lessen Irving’s overall impact?

After nearly a month, Irving has answered those questions emphatically. He recently told reporters that Harden is the team’s point guard and since making the switch to shooting guard, Irving hasn’t missed a beat.

SHOOTING GUARD pic.twitter.com/lJJi7STpSE

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 16, 2021

Observation 2: Western Conference Domination

The Nets are the only team in the East that has a winning record (7-3) against the Western Conference. They are off to a 2-0 start on their current five-game road trip, but the road only gets more difficult from here.

Brooklyn has a quick turnaround after beating Sacramento on Monday night. They are in Phoenix to take on Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and the Suns on Tuesday. The backcourt matchup of Harden-Irving vs. Paul-Booker is as good as it gets.

After Phoenix, they finish out this road trip with games against the Lakers and Clippers. Kevin Durant, who is dealing with a mild hamstring strain, could be back for those games. Even if he’s not, it looks like Harden and Irving are perfectly capable of carrying Brooklyn.