NEW YORK _ Breaking news: Kyrie Irving is an All-Star, he just won't be in the All-Star Game this year.
If there was any doubt of Irving's ability to obliterate opposing defenses at-will, he put them to rest with a mesmerizing 54-point performance in the Nets' 133-118 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
Fans, media and players did not agree on him as an All-Star starter, and coaches did not vote for Irving as a reserve, but his performance was a stark reminder that one of the league's best players resides on the other end of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Irving became the third-most efficient 50-point scorer in NBA history, picking the Bulls' defense apart in a 19-of-23 shooting night. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan have more efficient 50-point games.
Irving scored 27 of his 54 points in the first half and he did not miss a shot. He tied both Yao Ming and Penny Hardaway as the highest-scoring players to go perfect in any half.
The telltale sign of a special rest of the night happened at the end of the first half; Irving made a driving layup as time ticked down in the second quarter. He then stole an inbounds pass from Bulls' guard Tomas Satoransky, and drained a shot from nine feet behind the 3-point line at the buzzer. The Nets' bench absolutely lost it.
That shot etched Irving into the history books. It also gave the Nets a 16-point halftime lead.
The Nets played one of their better first halves of the season. They moved the ball and made open shots _ in Kenny Atkinson's system, sometimes that's all it takes to build a sizable lead. That lead was as large as 21 midway through the second quarter.
But the Nets have had issues protecting double-digit leads all season, and Friday night was no different.
The Bulls entered Friday night hungry for a victory: They are ninth in the Eastern Conference.
"Any time you're looking at teams in the standings that are above you _ Brooklyn and Orlando, that's the teams we've been looking at because we're fighting for our playoff seeding," Zach LaVine said pregame. "Obviously, we've gotta come out and be ready."
The Bulls started slow but came into the third quarter ready. They chipped away at the Nets' lead and cut it down to six entering the fourth.
But just like there was no answer for Irving in the first half, there was no answer for him in the fourth quarter. He checked back in at the 9:14 mark of the period and exploded for 10 straight points in a 90-second span.
He gave a nod to Kobe Bryant immediately after the game: "I had to keep going," he said. "That Kobe mentality, Mamba mentality. I had to keep going."
Irving's performance came in the flow of the offense. The Nets finished the game with 31 assists, of which Irving had five.
That's what it means to be a star _ even he wasn't voted as an All-Star this season.
