Kevin Durant stars in return as Nets rout Warriors

Kevin Durant looked good as new against his old team, Kyrie Irving was even better and the Brooklyn Nets emphatically kicked off the Steve Nash era with a 125-99 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night in the NBA's season opener.

Durant shook off 18 months of rust in a matter of moments and finished with 22 points from 25 minutes in his first official game since rupturing his Achilles tendon while playing for Golden State in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.

Irving led Brooklyn with 26 points and Caris LeVert scored 20 as the Nets led by as many as 38, pouring on the points the way the Phoenix Suns did when new Nets coach Nash was their point guard, or more recently Golden State did when Durant was their All-Star forward.

The Nets are expected to contend for the Eastern Conference title after finally getting Durant and Irving on the court together and they used the first game of the shortened, 72-game season to prove they might be worth the hype.

Stephen Curry had 20 points and 10 assists for the Warriors, a depleted team that looks nothing like the powerhouse that won two titles in Durant's three seasons there.