Kyrie Irving needs just 19 shots to drop season-high 50 points on Hornets

Fifty-point games in the NBA don't quite mean what they used to.

But some 50-point outings are better than others. See Kyrie Irving on Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Nets guard torched the Charlotte Hornets for 50 points and six assists in a 132-121 win. He needed just 19 shots to get there. He finished the night shooting 15 of 19 from the field, 9 of 12 from 3-point distance and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line in one of the most efficient scoring efforts you'll see this — or any NBA season.

Per StatMuse, Irving joined Michael Jordan as the only guards in NBA history to produce multiple career 50-point scoring efforts while shooting 75% or better from the field.

As the box score suggests, Irving was feeling it from pretty much everywhere on the court.

He was hot in transition:

He was hot from long distance:

He was hot under pressure:

The best part for the Nets? They broke a five-game losing streak. The preseason favorites to win the East have been in a tailspin amid Kevin Durant's injury, James Harden's departure and Irving's refusal to take a COVID-19 vaccine. But Tuesday was a glimpse of what can be from this team as Irving and Durant made a rare appearance on the court together in Durant's second game back from a 21-game absence from a knee sprain.

Nets need Irving for playoffs: will he be available?

Durant didn't do much against Charlotte, tallying 14 points and seven assists. But he didn't have to, which is the idea behind how this roster was constructed. On any given night either Durant, Irving and previously Harden would surely be on, meaning that the others wouldn't necessarily have to carry the load. When two or all three of them found their rhythm on the same night, they would be unbeatable.

Of course, those plans went to the wayside for aforementioned reasons. But there's still hope for this team despite a slide to 33-33 and eighth place in the East. But it depends on a lot.

It depends on Ben Simmons coming back physically and mentally ready to contribute under playoff pressure. With Irving making it clear that he won't get vaccinated, it depends on New York City lifting a private-sector vaccine mandate that requires every player to be vaccinated to play home games. Before the playoffs would be preferable for the Nets.

Until that happens, the Nets face an unlikely path out of a competitive Eastern Conference. As great as Irving can be, it doesn't matter much if he's only doing it in roughly half the games of any given playoff series.