Nets beat Bulls in first game after Durant’s departure

After moving superstar Kevin Durant in a deal with the Phoenix Suns in the early hours of Thursday morning. the Brooklyn Nets lit up Barclays Center in a 116-105 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Brooooooooklyn pic.twitter.com/lJQWMCCLBE

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 10, 2023

Spencer Dinwiddie scored team-high 25 points in his first game since returning to Brooklyn. It was his first game in a Nets uniform since Dec. 27, 2020.

Glad to have ya back, @SDinwiddie_25 😁 pic.twitter.com/AwArBcm23u

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 10, 2023

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Dinwiddie spent five seasons with the team and returned with 18 points in the second half with new arrivals Mikal Bridges, who is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and Cam Johnson -a prototypical 3-and-D wing, watching from the sidelines.

Zach LaVine finished with 38 points on 16-of-25 shooting from the field and DeMar DeRozan had 14 for Chicago, which lost its second straight and fell to 10-18 on the road.

After three straight 40-point games, Cam Thomas shot 3 of 16 from the field and finished with 20 points.

Defense will be the calling card for the new-look Nets. They are now 2-2 in games without both Irving and Durant in the past week.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s always difficult when you’re trading a player of that stature and that ilk,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said.

“My job as GM and our job as a front office is to try and bring in that caliber of talent. So those decisions are not easy, they come with a lot of thought, a lot of process on systemic debriefs and discussions that go along with that.”

Next, they have a true test: Joel Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers come to town on Saturday.