Kyrie Irving told reporters on Saturday he wants to remain in Brooklyn after this season. Brandon Dill/Associated Press

MIAMI — Kyrie Irving is finally going to play a home game for Brooklyn again on Sunday. And he apparently intends to play home games with the Nets for years to come.

Irving, speaking to reporters Saturday following Brooklyn’s game-day shootaround practice in Miami, said he feels comfortable being a member of the Nets and that he wants to remain teammates with Kevin Durant.

Irving holds a $36.5 million player option for next season. He could opt out and sign up to a five-year contract worth as much as $246 million this coming summer – assuming the Nets offer such a deal.

“I love it here,” Irving said. “Once summertime hits, I know that we’ll have some conversations but there’s no way I can leave my man 7 anywhere.”

That was a reference to Durant, who wears jersey No. 7 for Brooklyn.

Irving’s comments came one day before he’s scheduled to play his first home game for the Nets this season, now that New York City mayor Eric Adams exempted athletes and performers from the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. After Saturday’s game at Miami, Irving and the Nets return home to host Charlotte on Sunday.

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Irving has said he is unvaccinated, which has meant that he’s been eligible to only play road games for the Nets since re-joining the team in January. Adams’ decision has been criticized by some, since the city’s mandate still applies to many workers such as police officers and teachers.

“If the mandate isn’t necessary for famous people, then it’s not necessary for the cops who are protecting our city in the middle of a crime crisis,” Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, said this week.

Irving indicated that he understands why many may believe Adams’ decision creates a double standard.

“I think there are a lot of people dealing with real consequences from being unvaccinated,” Irving said Saturday. “I don’t think it’s talked about enough in terms of our essential workers and people on the front lines.”

Offering Irving an extension would mean that the Nets may have roughly $560 million promised to three players.

Durant’s four-year, $194 million extension with the Nets starts next season, keeping him under contract to Brooklyn through the 2025-26 season. Ben Simmons, who has yet to make his Nets debut after being acquired from Philadelphia earlier this season, is under contract through 2024-25 and is owed about $113 million through the remainder of his deal.

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“I’m looking at the long run,” Irving said.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

NETS 110, HEAT 95: Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Seth Curry added 17 and visiting Brooklyn overwhelmed Miami, sending the Heat to their season-worst fourth consecutive loss.

Andre Drummond had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn.

Bam Adebayo scored 14 points for Miami, which trailed by as many as 37 – its biggest deficit of the season. The Heat were without Coach Erik Spoelstra, who missed the game because of a family matter.

Miami dropped to second place in the Eastern Conference, percentage points behind Philadelphia. Boston and Milwaukee are just a half-game behind.

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GRIZZLIES 127, BUCKS 102: De’Anthony Melton had 24 points, Desmond Bane added 20 and Memphis continued to win in the absence of scoring leader Ja Morant, routing visiting Milwaukee.

Dillon Brooks scored 19 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 16 points and two blocks to help Memphis win its fourth straight and eighth in the last nine games. Melton was 8 of 11 from the field, going 6 of 9 from 3-point range.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, scoring 18 points in the third quarter when Milwaukee tried to make a run. Khris Middleton added 16 points. The defending champion Bucks lost for only the third time in the last 13 games.

SPURS 107, PELICANS 103: Dejounte Murray had 15 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, Keldon Johnson punctuated his 21-point night with a break-away dunk in the final seconds and San Antonio bolstered its postseason hopes with a victory at New Orleans.

The Pelicans nearly wiped out a 10-point deficit in the final 3:43 and had the ball, down 105-103, in the final seconds. But the Spurs sent multiple perimeter defenders at CJ McCollum, who opted to pass to Jose Alvarado on the left wing. Alvarado, an undrafted rookie who scored a career-high 23 points, missed a 3-point shot.

Jock Landale rebounded and got to the ball to Murray, who found Johnson with a long cross-court pass for the put-away basket in a victory that pulled San Antonio one game behind New Orleans for the final Western Conference play-in spot.

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McCollum scored 32 and Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans.

KINGS 114, MAGIC 110: Donte DiVincenzo and Harrison Barnes hit 3-pointers in the final minute of overtime and Sacramento won at Orlando.

Davion Mitchell led the Kings with 22 points and seven assists, Barnes added 19 points, and DiVincenzo had 16 points and eight rebounds.

Franz Wagner led Orlando with 19 points.

BULLS 98, CAVALIERS 94: Zach LaVine scored 26 points, DeMar DeRozan added 20 and Chicago stayed alone in the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference with a win at Cleveland.

The Bulls held the Cavs to 35 points in the first half and won on the road for the first time since March 9, snapping a five-game slide.

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RAPTORS 131, PACERS 91: Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and visiting Toronto routed depleted Indiana Pacers in a game delayed 70 minutes in the first half because of a speaker fire that forced the evacuation of fans.

In the first quarter, two sections of fans behind the basket at the east end of the stadium were cleared and Toronto Fire Services personnel could be seen in the empty aisles, staring at the ceiling. Later, another section was cleared as play continued.

Before long, video surfaced on social media of flames coming out of one of the speakers.

Raptors public address announcer Herbie Kuhn was heard testing the system multiple times, but the main speakers over the stands did not seem to be operating.

Eventually, Kuhn announced that the building was being evacuated at the order of Toronto Fire Services, telling booing fans that the game had been suspended.

Two workers using ropes and harnesses hung from the ceiling and sprayed a fire extinguisher at the problematic speaker.


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