Kyrie Irving has had his share of battles with the Warriors over his career, and reflected on his appreciation for Steph Curry after the Brooklyn Nets lost 110-106 at Chase Center on Saturday night.
"I love Steph, man," Irving told reporters Saturday. "The guy has completely revolutionized the game. Coming into the league as a young man in 2011 and only seeing glimpses of what he was capable of because he wasn't as healthy those early [years]. So we only got to see glimpses. But when he caught fire, everyone was on notice."
You can hear Irving's full comments below, in which he further breaks down how the two star point guards have learned and grown from competition between them.
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Irving was very complimentary of all of the Warriors, and said he loved the chance to compete against the "legends" in the Golden State locker room.
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The controversial Nets guard had a strong game Saturday, scoring 32 points and racking up seven assists and seven rebounds. It was just Irving's eighth game of the season after he missed the first 35 games while the Nets kept him inactive due to his status as an unvaccinated player.
Golden State Warriors
Steph finished with 19 points and eight assists, but again shot just 5-of-18 from the field. Curry's field-goal percentage of 41.5 would be the lowest of his career by far outside of the 2019-20 campaign, in which he played just five games before going down with a hand injury.
The next chance for these teams to meet would be in the NBA Finals this summer, although the Warriors only would have to face Kyrie in games at Chase Center unless Brooklyn adjusts its vaccination policies.