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The presentations don’t get much better than that.
James Harden made a triple-double on his debut for the Brooklyn Nets to team up with Kevin Durant to set the stage for a 122-115 victory over the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center.
Harden, a three-time champion who also has an assist title under his belt, put it all together two days after being acquired in Houston, scoring 32 points with 14 assists and 12 rebounds, the first 30-point triple-double. . in NBA history for a player making his debut with a new team.
“He stuffed the stats sheet,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “Wow, almost a quadruple double. But I mean, obviously James is a brilliant basketball player and we have to incorporate them to find a way to make this thing gummy and put them in a position to do what he does, and for him to make each of our guys better. . But he got to the line 15 times, he made three, 12 rebounds, 14 assists, four steals. We know what he is: he’s a world-class basketball player. So I’m going to continue to build and improve and try to figure out where everyone is a threat and we improve each other.
Durant, meanwhile, opened with a tear in his first season with Brooklyn, and this time went for a season-high 42 points while shooting 61.5% (16 of 26), including 5 on 8 in 3-point range, plus five assists and four rebounds. Joe Harris had 17 points and five rebounds.
It was Durant’s 10th game as a Net, and he has scored 307 points so far, the second-most points in NBA history for a player in his first 10 games with a new one. team behind Wilt Chamberlain, and also the most points in franchise history in a first 10 player of the season games.
“I have a long way to go, and I have a good staff, teammates, training staff who put me in position every day to go out there and be the best I can be,” said During. “So that’s 10 games, we’ve got 62 more – well, we’ve got more than that, I missed a few games. Where are we? 13 games? 14 games? So we have a long season ahead of us, and I just want to keep planning good days, good weeks, good months and see what happens.
Brooklyn shot 53.8% overall and 45.7% from a distance of 3 points, and really warmed up after half-time shooting 61.5% overall and 62.5% from a distance of 3 points in the second semester. At first, shots were more volatile on the way to a 52-50 halftime lead for the Nets, but Harden opened up in search of the pass, with seven halftime assists. .
“Man, that was amazing,” Durant said of Harden’s Brooklyn debut. “You could see him trying to find the best way to play. At first I felt like we were all passing. Try to make everyone feel comfortable. And then he just got into his mode of being aggressive to score and that opened up the whole game for all of us. I’m glad he has his feet under him and he has to keep plugging in, keep improving every day.
Durant was 16 at halftime and Harden was eight, and as they got down to rolling in the second half everyone found the basket better, including the Magic. Orlando tied the Nets for most of the third quarter, with both teams shooting at least 52% during the period.
As the Nets trailed 79-74, they scored seven in a row to take the lead. Durant sliced the way for a transition overlay, Harden did 1 of 2 from the line, then 2 of 3, then fed Landry Shamet for a transition overlay. After Orlando tied the game at 81, Harden responded with a 3-point decline for a lead the Nets never gave up after taking an 84-83 lead in the fourth quarter.
With a 10-3 run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, capped by three consecutive runs from Durant and Harden, the Nets advanced 96-88 with nine minutes remaining, having beaten Orlando 22-9 from late in the third trimester.
With the Magic back within three, Harden made two pair from the line, and Bruce Brown called with a turn three for a 117-107 lead with 1:38 remaining as the Nets sealed their third. consecutive victory.
“I think everyone was excited,” Nash said. “Obviously you bring a player of James’ caliber and his enthusiasm to be here and everyone was excited. You know it’s been fun a few days, performance wise, my head is spinning, who did we play three nights ago, Denver? It was a fun night. We played in New York, and we had a great game with a small staff where we played great, the guys moved the ball around, played together and again tonight found a way to win. It was fun games for us, and we needed it, we needed to build, we needed the positive energy because we had a hard time this year too. And obviously, it’s fun to see guys enjoying what they’re doing.
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