Brooklyn Nets star James Harden cites maturity as reason Kevin Durant takes historic start



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NEW YORK – Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and James Harden are freezing at an impressive rate – and the history books back it up.

On Monday night, they became the first duo to score more than 30 points in each of their first two franchise games as the Nets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 125-123. Durant had 30 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, while Harden had 34 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists.

This follows Harden’s 30-point triple-double performance on Saturday in his debut for the Nets against the Magic, a game in which Durant scored 42.

Since Harden’s arrival in Brooklyn, Nets’ coaches and management have said on several occasions that they will build on the previous chemistry that Harden and Durant built during their tenure in Oklahoma City. After all, Harden hasn’t had a single workout with Brooklyn yet.

Harden said their maturity further helped their synergy on the pitch.

“We were young in Oklahoma City,” Harden said. “We’re grown men now. We know what we want. We really know basketball now. We’re not those young people who want to run and just shoot and dunk all day. And then for me, I m ‘Sit down and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball. “

Harden and Durant combined for 138 points in their first two games together in Brooklyn, according to ESPN Stats and News research. This is the second most combined points for his teammates in their first two games with a franchise in NBA history after Wilt Chamberlain and York Larese had 151 in 1961. Chamberlain scored 139 of 151 points, Larese scoring 0 in their first game together. and 12 in their second.

Durant said he wasn’t surprised at how quickly he and Harden meshed on the pitch.

“We’ve been through a lot in this league,” Durant said. “I have a lot of experience, and for us to put it together now and combine what we’ve learned over that time and try to play great basketball, I think it was pretty transparent for us.

“It was an easy transition, especially with James handling the ball a lot. So we’re still trying to find our way and we still have room to improve, but it’s a good start.”

And on Tuesday, the Nets are expected to add another ingredient to the mix, as Kyrie Irving is expected to train for the first time in more than two weeks.

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