Just three games into his new chapter in Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving has made Nets -- and NBA -- history.
Sunday's 134-133 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies featured Irving's game-high 37 points, resulting in franchise and league milestones through three games.
Irving became the first Net ever to total 26 points or more in a season's opening three games. With his 113 points through the stretch, he overtook guard James Harden, who compiled 106 points in his initial three games as a member of the Houston Rockets to start the 2012-13 season.
"Later on in the season as we continue to progress, it'll become more cerebral out there on the floor," Irving told reporters after the game at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. "In the NBA, it's hard to manage a game when you're trading baskets. It's one of the most difficult things to do to separate yourself in a game when you go up five and then you five up a three. ... So we still have a lot of experience to garner with each other, so not to get too high or too low.
"Welcome to the big stage. It's going to be like that sometimes. You're going to have guys play out of their comfort zone (when) you're playing against certain players. And now, I'm used to it. I've had game winners shot on me down the stretch up so many times.
"So it's just throw one in the bank and just try to get better from this. Watch film, get better defensively -- just got to compete better on that end and get more consistency -- and then our offense will take care of itself."
CONFIRMED: Kyrie Irving has disgusting handles 😲 pic.twitter.com/0XkV6DdOA7
- SNY (@SNYtv) October 27, 2019
Irving shot 11 of 27 from the field and went 5 for 12 on three-point shots, also dishing out seven assists and grabbing seven rebounds.
His latest performance came on the heels of Friday's 26 points in Brooklyn's 113-109 win over the New York Knicks, which followed last Wednesday's 50 points in the Nets' 127-126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
At 37.7 points per game, Irving only trails Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (38.5 points per game) at No. 2 on the NBA's early-season list of scoring leaders.