Isn’t it Kevin Durant? No problems.
After the Nets talked about stealing a game with their attacker at rest, it was not stolen: it was deserved.
The Nets continued to gain momentum with a 147-125 victory on Friday in Oklahoma City, drawing with their highest score in the team’s history.
“They are very satisfactory whenever you achieve a victory. But whenever the whole team played well, we can do great things, as one group definitely stands out from the rest, ”said Kyrie Irving. “Definitely proud of our guys for competing at both ends of the track and not taking your foot off the gas.”
Irving had 25 points and seven assists, while James Harden dominated with 25 points, 11 assists and 10 scholarships. It has three doubles and a 6-2 record as a net.
“Both were incredible. James manages the game very well, distributes the ball, scores, assists, hits, gets his hands on the balls defensively, ”said coach Steve Nash. “Kyrie was just incredible at making bullets. He is capable of making incredible plays with basketball and is such a threat that it is difficult for defenses to contain. “
Clearly. Harden’s way of playing made everyone around him better, the nine Nets players in double digits equaling a team record set on April 8, 1984.
Joe Harris added 20 points out of 5 out of 9 depth. With Landry Shamet (3 of 7) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (4 of 8) finally hitting outside, the Nets hit 57 percent and led up to 25 in their fourth straight win.
“Very very good. The ball was moving. We were active at both ends of the floor. The coaches drew up a beautiful game plan and we performed on both ends of the ball, ”said Harden. “We like to see the transition, and these latest games that we are carrying. We’ve been playing well – especially in defense – and it’s showing. We just have to continue. “
The Nets (13-8) won eight of their last 10 to overtake Milwaukee for second place in the East.
Nash juggled his spins, giving Harden only his second career attacking game and defensive-minded Bruce Brown, the low-guard wave to delay Shaw Gilgeous-Alexander. It all resulted in aces.
The Nets came in with a five-consecutive drop against OKC, but received their payback for a defeat by the Barclays Center the previous season on 10 January.
“They came to Brooklyn and shocked us, so we had something to prove,” said Brown, who made 19 points out of 9 out of 11 shots with five rebounds. “We just communicated on the floor. We were all on a rope. We knew what we wanted to do, try to limit Shai’s touches. We knew the game plan and we followed it ”.
The Nets lost 19-18 after a 3-point Al Horford with 4:43 remaining in the first quarter. That was when they ran a long 33-8 run, holding OKC without a bucket for 8:08 during the first and second quarters.
The Nets forced seven consecutive errors and four turnovers in that period, taking full control and never returning.
The Nets scored the first 15 unanswered points to open the second quarter. Jeff Green’s strong momentum with a feed from Harden made the 51-27 with 8:53 remaining for the break.
The moment Luguentz Dort broke the skid, the game was over.
The Nets cushion was 76-59 at halftime, the second highest score they scored in the first half in the Brooklyn era. And their 115-94 lead in the fourth period was the second-highest in three in the team’s history, behind the 120 that hung in San Antonio on March 6, 2020.
Chris Chiozza’s Brown dead end with 1:39 left padded the cushion to 145-120.
“We are moving slowly at both ends of the floor,” said Nash. “We fight defensively at times, but we are getting more solid with our game plan defensively, which is important. Offensively, you are starting to see a little more flow. “
“We will be challenged every night. We will achieve the best of all, ”said Irving. “But what we are doing now is just finding continuity to be able to use the strengths we have.”