The presentations don’t go much better than that.
James Harden triple-doubled his debut for the Brooklyn Nets to join Kevin Durant in the lead in the 122-115 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Barclays Center.
Harden, three-time top scorer who also has an assist title to his credit, put everything on display two days after being acquired from Houston, scoring 32 points with 14 assists and 12 rebounds, the first 30-point triple-double in NBA history for a player making his debut on a new team.
“He filled the stats sheet,” said Nets coach Steve Nash. “Wow, almost a quadruple-double. But I mean, obviously James is a brilliant basketball player and we have to incorporate them to find a way to make this thing freeze and put them in a position to do what he does, and for him to make each of our guys best. But he reached the line 15 times, made three, 12 rebounds, 14 assists, four steals. We know what he is: he is a world-class basketball player. So, I will continue to build and improve and try to find that where everyone is a threat and we become better at each other. “
Durant, meanwhile, opened in his first season with Brooklyn, and this time reached the season record with 42 points, shooting at 61.5 percent (16 of 26), including 5 of 8 of 3 points plus five assists and four rebounds. Joe Harris had 17 points and five rebounds.
This was Durant’s 10th game as a net, and he has scored 307 points so far, the second highest in NBA history for a player in his first 10 games with a new team behind Wilt Chamberlain, and also the highest number of points in the history of the franchise in one the first 10 games of the player’s season.
“I have a long way to go and I have a good team, teammates, a training team that puts me in a position every day to go there and be the best I can be,” said Durant. “So there are 10 games, we have 62 more – well, we have more than that, I lost a few games. What are we in? 13 games? 14 games? So we have a long season ahead of me and I just want to keep adding some good days, good weeks, good months and see what happens. “
Brooklyn hit 53.8% in total and 45.7% in the 3-point range, and really warmed up after the break by shooting 61.5% in total and 62.5% in the 3-point range in the second half. At first, the shot was more unstable on the way to a 52-50 lead for the Nets, but Harden opened the game looking for the pass, with seven assists in the break.
“Man, it was amazing,” said Durant of Harden’s Brooklyn debut. “You could see him trying to figure out the best way to play. At first, I felt that we were all outdated. Trying to make everyone comfortable. And then he just went into his aggressive way of scoring and that opened up the whole game for all of us. I’m glad he got up and has to keep working, getting better every day. “
Durant was 16 in the first half and Harden had eight, and as they went on in the second half everyone thought the basket was better, including the Magic. Orlando matched the Nets for most of the third quarter, with both teams shooting at least 52 percent in the period.
With the Nets losing 79-74, they scored seven straight to take the lead. Durant cut the track for a transition layup, Harden did 1 of 2 on the line and then 2 of 3, and then fed Landry Shamet for a transition layup. After Orlando tied the game in 81, Harden responded with a 3-point retreat to an advantage that the Nets never gave up after taking an 84-83 lead in the fourth period.
With a 10-3 streak in the first minutes of the fourth period, culminating in 3 consecutive points from Durant and Harden, the Nets moved up 96-88 with nine minutes to go, having defeated Orlando by 22-9 from the end in the third quarter.
With Magic back in three, Harden made a pair twice on the line, and Bruce Brown followed with a corner three for a 117-107 lead with 1:38 remaining, while the Nets sealed their third successive win.
“I think everyone was excited,” said Nash. “Obviously you brought a player of James’s caliber and your excitement to be here and everyone was excited. You know, it was a fun day, when it comes to performance, my head is spinning, who did we play with three nights ago, Denver? It was a fun night. We played in New York and played an excellent short-staff game where we played very well, the crowd moved the ball, played together and once again, tonight, we found a way to win. It has been some fun games for us, and we needed them, we needed to build, we needed some positive energy because we also had some difficult times this year. And it’s obviously fun when you see guys enjoying what they do. “