“Everybody wants to see us against the Lakers”: Kyrie Irving opens up about Nets’ postseason expectations and beating LeBron James after 109-98 win at Staples Center

Kyrie Irving threw the gauntlet down to LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers, saying he wants to see them in the Finals.

The Brooklyn Nets romped to an easy win last night on the back of more exemplary 3-point shooting. They swished 18 of their 39 3-point shots, creating a 30-point separation with the Lakers from range.

Neither Kyrie Irving nor James Harden was particularly marauding on offense last night. But with their role players firing on all cylinders, they didn’t have to be. Joe Harris and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, in particular, were on fire from downtown.

The Lakers tried to hang with the Nets for the first 2 quarters. They came to within 8 points in the 3rd period, but the Nets held them off at that point. The Nets’ lead swelled to over 20 points for much of the 4th, following which Frank Vogel threw in the towel.

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Overall, it was a complete performance by Brooklyn. They couldn’t do a whole lot against LeBron James, who had 32, 8 and 7 on the night. But they were able to keep the other Lakers in check in the absence of AD and Dennis Schroder.

Kyrie Irving says the Nets would like to meet LeBron James and co in the Finals

Asked about what the Nets got right tactically last night, Irving had an elaborate answer:

“We knew that LeBron was gonna go out and try to score a lot of points, so, we were relying on the other guys to make shots around him. So, we just wanted to come out and show why we’ve been able to go on this little streak and that’s just committing to the other end of the floor.”

“Just being there for each other, rebounding, boxing out, doing the little details that create separation. We’ll see them down the line again and we look forward to it, with a whole entire healthy Lakers team, that’s what we really wanted and I know everybody wants that. I’m looking forward to the challenge and seeing them down the line.”

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