James Harden played a huge part in the Nets win over the Spurs. Kyrie Irving praises his guard partner
Brooklyn Nets are on 4 road games, where they have already registered a win over the Wizards. But an earlier loss to the Cavs had them struggling for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. James Harden and Kyrie Irving steadied the nerves with an emphatic 15 points win over the Spurs.
Both teams entered the game with different intentions; the Nets, to cement their top spot in the East, the Spurs, were looking to get into the play-in at least. The game was very close till the 3rd quarter, but Harden who was quiet in the 1st half, scored 23 points in the 2nd half only to pull off a win for the Nets.
Brooklyn Nets were playing without their superstar Kevin Durant, due to his knee injury. Since it was an away game, Kyrie was in the team and his presence helped Harden to make some decisive plays.
Kyrie scored 24 points, while Harden managed a massive 37 point triple-double with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Kyrie said, “We came back in 3rd quarter with deeper focus. Watching James doing what he does, I was just trying to get out of his way (laughs)”
He also commented on how Harden’s production made the game easier for the team and then they controlled the difficult game. James Harden is known for his frequent triple-double performances and this was also one such top-notch performance by him.
As for the Spurs, Dejounte Murray also had 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in the game; but his efforts were not enough to see the game through. Jacob Poeltl had 15 points and 11 rebounds in 117-102 loss.
James Harden impact on the Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn Nets signed James Harden to form an offensive trio of Durant-Irving-Harden. The 2018 MVP took his time to settle in the team but then became an integral part of their offense. But due to vaccination issues, Irving was not part of the team for a larger period of the season. In that period, Harden and KD pulled off some great performances to keep Nets’ challenge in the league.
Harden even had some solo games, giving Durant some much needed rest on road. The Nets lost 2 games out of 5 without Harden this season. Also with all 3 superstars on the floor, the Nets are undefeated this season, showing their authority on the league.
Harden averages 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists this season which is quite a big help for Durant and the team. The addition of Kyrie makes the team “offensively un-guardable” and the Nets can sense Championship on the cards.
Brooklyn Nets will next face Minnesota Timberwolves to end their current road game series.
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