The Nets, fighting and without Kyrie Irving, needed something positive in the worst way. What they achieved was a sublime performance by Kevin Durant.
The former MVP looked like one, lifting the Nets from a huge deficit to a 122-116 victory over the Nuggets on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center.
The Nets lost 18 points in the third quarter before recovering to take the lead. Losing again, 113-111, at the end of the fourth period, they gained 10 unanswered points for taking down the Nuggets.
“It was definitely necessary, especially after a bad defeat in the last game and especially starting at 18,” said Durant. “You saw that the guys are proud and want to go out and compete. And everyone came with him. “
Durant had the highest score in the game, 34 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. Fourteen of his points came during a 32-7 streak in the third quarter that transformed an 18-point hole into a seven-point advantage. He and defensive ace Bruce Brown led the rally in the final stretch.
Brown finished with 16 points and six bags, while Caris LeVert added 20 points, six assists and five bags off the bench.
“This man is different,” said Brown of Durant. “I think I stole rebounds and he didn’t get a triple-double. I did not even know; I would have let him understand. But that man is different.
“He’s just a walking bucket. … I’ve never seen a player like that before. “
The Nets, who equaled their 6-6 record, play against the Knicks at the Garden on Wednesday.
“It was a great victory. We needed that, I think, for our soul. A lot has been thrown at us, a lot of new things, ”said coach Steve Nash, who challenged his team at halftime. “We asked them to fight in the second half, to go up physically, to demand and compete and to win small battles. That’s what they did and got the victory. “
Denver’s Nikola Jokic (23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds) and Jamal Murray (20 points) gave the Nets a few attacks earlier.
A pair of Murray baskets gave the Nuggets an 18 point lead at the start of the third quarter, first at 74-56, and then again at 76-58 with 10:32 remaining in the period.
It was then that the Nets ran an eight-minute, 32-7 run to regain control of the game. A team that failed to buy a stop in the first half forced the Nuggets to do just 3 out of 12 with four spins on that stretch.
This fueled the counterattack and Durant scored 14 points in the spurt, along with four assists – the last was a feed from Taurean Prince for a finger spin that made the 90-83 with 2:36 remaining in the third.
The Nuggets came back ahead in 111-109, before drawing in 111 in an offensive rebound and strong momentum from Brown.
Jokic put Denver back ahead with 113-111, before the Nets used a 10-0 run to seal it. Brown managed a jump to tie him up, and – after an offensive foul by Will Barton – added a baseline floater for a 115-113 lead at one end and a defensive board at the other.
Durant’s jumper made it 117-113 with 1:14 left, and the Nets forced Murray’s mistake. Durant’s 3-pointed dagger froze him.
“I feel like I’m on a good pace and dropping kicks,” said Durant, who passed Adrian Dantley, Elgin Baylor and Dwyane Wade on the NBA’s all-time top scorer list. “I mean, I feel good, man.”