NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving shook off three rough quarters to score 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, Kevin Durant had 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and the Brooklyn Nets handed the Atlanta Hawks their first loss with a 145-141 victory on Wednesday night.

In the opener of a two-game series between the teams that was almost entirely about offense — the third game in Nets franchise where both teams had 100 points through three quarters — Irving couldn’t get into the act. He was just 3 for 16 from the field and getting badly outplayed by point guard counterpart Trae Young.

But he made three 3-pointers in the final quarter after missing all seven through three as the Nets rallied to win after dropping two straight following their 2-0 start.

Young had 30 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, and John Collins had 30 points and 10 rebounds. But it wasn’t enough for the Hawks, who had won their first three for the first time since 2016.

Bogdan Bogdanovic made six 3-pointers and scored 22 points and Cam Reddish had 20 for the Hawks, who led for most of the first three quarters but never by too much because the Nets — except Irving — were just as hot.

Brooklyn put seven players in double figures, with Joe Harris adding 23 points.

The teams play again in Brooklyn on Friday night.

HEAT 119, BUCKS 108: Miami engineered a 58-point turnaround against Milwaukee in 24 hours.

And just like that, an embarrassing loss was avenged.

Goran Dragic scored 26 points off the bench, Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and the host Heat beat the Bucks  – one day after Milwaukee made an NBA-record 29 3-pointers on the way to a 47-point romp on Miami’s home floor.

Tyler Herro scored 21 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by 14 early in the second half and rallied to get a split of the two-game, two-night series against the team that finished with the NBA’s best record in each of the past two regular seasons.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double — 26 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists — for the Bucks. Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 and Jrue Holiday 13 for Milwaukee, and Khris Middleton was held to eight on 3-for-15 shooting.

Avery Bradley scored 16 and Kelly Olynyk had 15 for Miami.

Milwaukee’s lead was 72-58 early in the second half, 84-73 with 3:44 left in the third. It was all Miami from there, with the Heat — who were without Jimmy Butler for a second straight game because of a sprained right ankle — outscoring the Bucks 40-15 over the next 12 minutes

Herro beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-pointer to get Miami within three, Dragic opened the final quarter with another 3 to tie it and the Heat, who trailed by as many as 51 on Tuesday, took the lead for good on a 3 by Olynyk with 9:04 left.

NOTES

RATING: Viewers watched 81.5 million hours of live games on ABC, ESPN and TNT in the opening week of the season, up 95% from opening week in 2019.

In terms of total hours, this season’s opening week was the most viewed since 2011, the league said. That also was the last time the NBA season opened during the week of Christmas; it was on Dec. 25 that year and Dec. 22 this year.

The NBA season typically opens in October. The start of this season was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, whereas there was a labor dispute in 2011.

Games shown on ESPN on Christmas Day – New Orleans against Miami and the Los Angeles Clippers against Denver – were up 10% in average viewers (2.83 million) over the games shown in comparable windows on Christmas last season.

Opening week of the NBA was also a huge hit on social media. The NBA saw a 36% increase in video views and a 279% increase in minutes watched in this year’s opening week compared with opening week in 2019.

The NBA said opening week this year was the most-watched week in the 15-year history of its YouTube account and that the league’s account was the most-watched on Instagram last week.

PACERS: Longtime executive Donnie Walsh, the architect of the franchise’s turnaround, announced his retirement.

“Over my 30-year relationship with Donnie, I have been amazed to watch him help lead this organization to what it has become,” team owner Herb Simon said in a statement. “He was certainly the right leader at the right time, and the invaluable wisdom and counsel he has provided over the decades extend well beyond the lines of the basketball court.”

Walsh, 79, came to Indiana as an assistant coach in 1984, joining a franchise that had never won a playoff game during its NBA history.

Two years later, Walsh was promoted to general manager.

Eventually, Walsh was given the titles of CEO and team president, which he held until leaving to return to his hometown, New York, as the Knicks’ president of basketball operations.

Walsh resigned as New York’s decision-maker in June 2011 but continued to serve as a consultant with the Knicks for one more year. In June 2012, the Pacers brought back Walsh as president of basketball operations, succeeding Larry Bird.

When Bird returned to the team a year later, Walsh continued to work as a consultant.

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