Oct 24, 2019Kyrie Irving and rookie RJ Barrett were the talk of the town following their tantalizing debuts with their respective new teams.The two will take center stage at Barclays Center on Friday as Irving and the Brooklyn Nets host Barrett's New York Knicks in the first installment of the Battle of the Boroughs.Let's start with Irving, who became the seventh player in Nets' franchise history to score 50 points in Wednesday's season-opening 127-126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.Irving had the ball in his hands on the final possession, but the six-time All-Star lost his footing off the dribble and forced a shot that caromed off the rim as time expired."The job wasn't done. So that 50 just goes into just another few numbers that -- it holds value, but really ... when you don't get a win," Irving said after he sank seven 3-pointers and shot 17 of 33 from the field.Irving's point total was the most by a Nets player making his debut, eclipsing the 30 posted by Hall of Famer Nate "Tiny" Archibald with then-New Jersey in 1976 as well as D'Angelo Russell in 2017.Irving will face New York for the first time since spurning the club in the offseason. In addition, the New Jersey native brought the injured Kevin Durant and former Knick DeAndre Jordan with him to Brooklyn."I told (Irving) from Day One the pressure isn't on you. I need to perform well, our younger guys need to get better. ... Our job here is to give him support," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said.Like Irving, Barrett also saw a strong performance in his debut go by the boards on Wednesday as the Knicks dropped a 120-111 decision to the San Antonio Spurs.Barrett showed flashes of star power en route to scoring 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in his first game since being selected by New York with the third overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke."I told you. When the popcorn's popping, that kid is ready," New York coach David Fizdale said of Barrett, who helped the club rally from a 16-point deficit in the first half and sank a jumper at the buzzer to give his team an 84-83 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.Marcus Morris pumped in a team-leading 26 points -- including 17 in the first half on 6-for-8 shooting -- and Julius Randle added 25 and 11 rebounds.Promising numbers to be certain for a Knicks club that posted a league-worst 17-65 mark in 2018-19, tied for the franchise's worst season.Brooklyn won three of the four meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals in 2018-19, including both contests at the Barclays Center."I don't know what it is in other cities but expectations come with it when you're playing in New York. There's more of a spotlight on us, but it's exciting; what a great challenge we've got in front of us," Atkinson said.--Field Level Media
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