[ad_1]
The struggling Nets without Kyrie Irving needed something positive in the worst possible way. What they got was a sublime performance from Kevin Durant.
The former MVP looked like it, taking the Nets from a massive deficit to a 122-116 win over the Nuggets on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
The Nets trailed 18 points in the third quarter before rallying to take the lead. Pulling back, 113-111, at the end of the fourth quarter, they netted 10 unanswered points to bring down the Nuggets.
“It was really necessary, especially after a bad loss in the last game and especially starting with 18,” Durant said. “You’ve seen guys be proud and they want to go out and compete. And everyone came with it.
Durant had 34 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. Fourteen of his runs came in a 32-7 run in the third quarter that turned an 18-point hole into a seven-point lead. He and defensive ace Bruce Brown led the rally down the straight.
Brown finished with 16 points and six tables while Caris LeVert added 20 points, six assists and five boards on the bench.
“This man is different,” Brown said 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 this man is different.
“It’s just a walking bucket. … I’ve never seen a player like this before.
The Nets, who tied their record at 6-6, face the Knicks at the Garden on Wednesday.
“It was a great victory. We needed it, I think, for our soul. A lot of things have been thrown at us, a lot of new things, ”said coach Steve Nash, who challenged his team at half-time. “We asked them to compete in the second half, to increase their physical level, to demand and compete and to win small battles. That’s what they did and they won.
Denver’s Nikola Jokic (23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds) and Jamal Murray (20 points) gave the Nets early adjustments.
A pair of Murray baskets gave the Nuggets a pair of 18 points early in the third quarter, first at 74-56 and then back at 76-58 with 10:32 left in the period.
It was then that the Nets went on to run an eight-minute, 32-7 run to regain control of the game. A team that couldn’t buy a first-half stoppage forced the Nuggets to shoot just 3 of 12 with four turnovers in that streak.
That fueled the quick break and Durant had 14 points in the push, as well as four assists – the last a feed to Taurean Prince for a finger roll that made 90-83 with 2:36 left in the third.
The Nuggets regained the lead at 111-109 before the Nets tied at 111 on an offensive rebound and Brown’s strong push.
Jokic put Denver back in the lead at 113-111 before the Nets used a 10-0 run to seal him. Brown got a rebound to tie it up and – after an offensive foul from Will Barton – added a base float for a 115-113 lead on one end and a defensive backboard on the other.
Durant’s jumper went 117-113 with 1:14 left, and the Nets forced Murray to miss. Durant’s 3-pointed dagger froze him.
“I feel like I’ve been on a good pace and dropping shots,” said Durant, who passed Adrian Dantley, Elgin Baylor and Dwyane Wade on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. . “I mean, I feel good, man.
[ad_2]
Source link