Unvaccinated Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving says he is hopeful of “turning the page” after his season-high 38 points led his team to a 126-123 win at the Milwaukee Bucks.
Irving cannot play home games because New York’s Covid-19 mandate bans unvaccinated people from indoor venues.
City mayor Eric Adams said last week he was keen to end the ruling.
Irving showed his importance to the Nets as they beat the defending NBA champions in Wisconsin on Saturday.
Trailing by seven points going into the final quarter, Brooklyn outscored the Bucks 23-13 over the final five minutes 30 seconds to earn their first win over Milwaukee in three meetings this season.
Brooklyn’s LaMarcus Aldridge scored a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining and Giannis Antetokounmpo – the Bucks’ reigning NBA Finals MVP – missed a potential equalising three-pointer at the buzzer.
Irving’s contribution of 38 points proved vital, landing 14 of his 26 attempts, and adding five rebounds and five assists.
On the prospect of being able to return to playing Nets home games in the future, he said: “I’m glad that things are kind of settling down and there’s light at the end of the tunnel here.
“Hopefully, I can get back on that home floor playing in the Barclays and now we can finally have that conversation that you’ve been dying to have, just about turning the page and moving forward beyond this.
“But like I said, I’m not the only one. I feel for everybody that’s either in my boat or a similar boat or have dealt with some type of trauma from this. And just wishing everybody well-wishes, always.”
Elsewhere, Ja Morant scored a franchise-record and career-high 46 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 116-110 victory at the Chicago Bulls.
The Boston Celtics extended their winning streak on the road to seven games with a 113-104 win over the Detroit Pistons.
