Player grades: Kevin Durant scores 45, leads Nets past Magic

The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Orlando Magic on Monday for the first of three meetings this season and won 109-102. The Nets are back to .500 (11-11) for the first time since Oct. 21 when they were 1-1 after beating the Toronto Raptors.

Kevin Durant scored 45 points (on just 24 shots) for the Nets and grabbed seven rebounds. Kyrie Irving had 20 points and three assists while Joe Harris scored 17 points off the bench.

Paolo Banchero had 24 points and five assists for the Magic while Bol Bol had 24 points and six rebounds. Franz Wagner had 21 points and Gary Harris had 19 points.

This game came down to the Nets being a better team. Brooklyn did not do much to stop the Magic from scoring, but Durant and Irving scored just enough points to bring home the win. There was a point where the Magic missed 17 consecutive shots in the first half, but that showed how depleted the Magic were.

Ben Simmons left the game in the second quarter with left knee soreness and did not return. Here are the Nets player grades for the win over the Magic:

Kevin Durant: A

Durant did whatever he wanted to in this game. Not many players were able to contribute offensively, but he was able to get to his sweet spots off the dribble. It seemed that Durant sensed that the team needed a spark because he showed some emotion early on when he got into it with Kevon Harris. Durant had quite the offensive game, but he did have trouble guarding Banchero for the most part.

Kyrie Irving: A-

Irving did a good job of pushing the ball in transition especially in the absence of Simmons. While he had trouble guarding Harris throughout this game, Irving was able to ease the pressure on Durant by constantly taking his man off the dribble and hitting tough shots. Irving turned the ball over more than one would like, but he did a good job of keeping the ball moving and taking advantage of mismatches.

Ben Simmons: Incomplete

Simmons lasted only 11 minutes before he had to leave the game in the second quarter with left knee soreness. However, before Simmons left, he was not aggressive on offense at all. He kept looking to pass to someone else instead of trying to take Bol or Banchero to the basket. Simmons did play great defense on the perimeter.

Royce O'Neale: B+

O’Neale did not have much of a scoring game, but he did make an impact in almost every other way. As he has done throughout this season, O’Neale did an admirable job of helping Claxton and Durant on the boards. O’Neale played solid defense on the perimeter and he was even able to cleanly strip Banchero at the end of the game.

Nic Claxton: A

Claxton did a good job of controlling the paint and providing help defense when one of his teammates were blown by on the drive. As usual, Claxton provided great energy while on the floor and he did a great job of making clean catches and finishing strong at the rim when the opportunity presented itself.

Seth Curry: C-

Curry was trying to look for this shot all game, but he was unable to get anything going in the scoring department. Curry was growing more frustrated as he was struggling to get clean looks at the rim because of the length of the Magic players including Bol, who guarded Curry more than a few times to offer more resistance on the perimeter.

Edmond Sumner: D

Sumner did not make much of an impact tonight as he was phased out of the game because of the length of the Magic. He gave a great effort on defense as he’s accustomed to providing, but it was hard for him to get a rhythm with this game boiling down to the taller athletes.

Joe Harris: B-

Harris has yet to have the game where he is raining three’s and stretching the defense to stressful levels. However, he did a great job in this game of trying to score in other ways by driving to the rim, getting fouled, or looking for easy jump shots. Harris gave a good effort on defense and he created some easy scoring opportunities for himself and/or his teammates by moving well without the ball.

Cam Thomas: D+

Thomas did not play much in this game as he appeared to struggle against the size and athleticism of the Magic. He did come into the game confident and looking for his shot, but wasn’t given many opportunities to make an impact scoring the ball. Thomas did play solid enough defense to possibly play more and he even forced a turnover from Franz Wagner.

Story originally appeared on Nets Wire