James Harden has not been his aggressive self since coming from Houston, and is still trying to draw the fine line from his new team. But with Kevin Durant finally looking mortal for the first time, Harden carried the Nets to victory.
Harden, who was nailed with the Eastern Conference champion in a fourth quarter, took a solid game and turned it into a 98-85 blowout from Miami Monday night at Barclays Center.
With Brooklyn clinging to an 81-80 lead at its best, Harden and Irving sparked a 15-0 run that knocked the fast-shooting Heat away.
‘Enormous for us. “We didn’t have the best points on offense, but defensively we just stuck to it, made it very, very difficult for them,” said Harden. “Offensively we didn’t play well, but defensively I thought we were active out there, we contested shots and made things harder for them as a team.”
Harden finishes with 20 points, eight assists and four rebounds, while Durant adds 20 and 13 boards. While Harden has not been his typical ego since arriving in Houston in a mega-four-team deal while Durant struggled off the floor, it was Harden who scored 10 points in that important run.
‘Just aggressive. I was not very aggressive throughout the course of the game. That zone shook us a little in the sense that we wanted to slow down. They manned some possessions and I got a little loose, so my teammates give me the confidence to shoot the basketball, to be aggressive, and that’s it.
‘I think it’s just five games and that’s what we have a long season for. Once we all find the balance, our team will be much better. But it’s still early. As we understand, we try to win as much as possible. It’s a great feeling if you can do both. ”
Before the game, Steve Nash admitted that he wanted Harden to be more aggressive. On Monday, the three-time champion had little choice.
Durant struggled through 6 of 21 shootings, including a 2 of 13 starts. But the Nets still found a way to win.
“Just wanted to be a little more aggressive. Of course you know Kevin and Kyrie [Irving] are really very good scorers. Easy shots that they normally make, ”said Harden. “We wanted to finish the fourth quarter the right way, and we did it defensively.”
Brooklyn’s poor defense kept Miami at just 14 in the fourth quarter as the Nets won for the sixth time in eight games.
The Heat (6-10) played without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro; but they defended and deleted as all Erik Spoelstra teams do. And they tested the Nets with 2-3 zones and 3-2 zones, and recorded Brooklyn’s series of 12 consecutive games that scored more than 110 points.
“They definitely noticed the game and made it a physical game and were able to stay in the fourth part of the game until late,” Durant said. “Our defense held on the whole game and as soon as we could start shooting in the fourth time, we were able to pull away, but our defense definitely won us this game.”
Brooklyn came out colder than the weather. The Nets missed their first five shots to fall into a quick 8-0 hole, setting the tone for most of the night. They shot just 4-for-21 in the first quarter and missed their first 11 attempts from behind the arc, until Joe Harris finally struck from deep with 9:30 left in the half.
The Nets still trailed 45-38 with a minute left before halftime – and 61-56 in the third – before finally starting to gain some traction.
Harden clung on to an 81-80 lead and drilled a setback 3 with 4:59 left, and then a layup to push the lead to six. After Harden’s defensive line on the other side grew big and Kendrick Nunn blocked, Irving’s bucket made it 88-80 with 3:54 to play.
Harden and Harris added 3 points to put it at 16, and they stabbed a dagger in Miami.
“Guys were tired,” Nash said. “We could not buy a basket. We looked very pretty. Tired of shooting the ball, but also tired because we were a little stagnant against the zone after a good performance against it the other night. Generally, it was just the fact that they hung out there, and James stepped up and made some big hits. “