Before Wednesday night’s game, Nets head coach Steve Nash was asked about playing Kevin Durant and James Harden in the second game of a back-to-back.
Nash gave the expected response about the two All-Stars being highly competitive athletes who want to play when healthy.
If either one was tired from playing Golden State the night before, it certainly didn’t show as the Nets defeated the Cavaliers, 109-99, at the Barclays Center Wednesday evening. Harden had 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Durant chipped in 23 points.
Nash certainly doesn’t want to burn out his two dynamic playmakers, but he trusts their judgments about their bodies and still wants the team to build strong on-court chemistry.
"I think that we definitely are going to look for our spots to protect them," said Nash before the game. "We just have to be very strategic. We’re a new team trying to find itself and trying to form that identity and those guys are super-competitive so they want to play. It’s a tricky balance."
The Nets improved to 11-5 and Cleveland fell to 9-7. It was Brooklyn’s third win over a team currently with a winning record this season. The Nets were coming off a 117-99 home loss to the Warriors from the night before and improved to 2-1 in the second game of a back-to-back.
LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 24 points and seven rebounds, including 16 points in the second half.
Harden and Durant looked strong from the opening whistle. Durant scored 13 of his 23 points in the first quarter. Durant had 19 points in the first half on 7-for-10 shooting and shot 9 of 16 for the game.
Harden had 16 points on 3-for-7 shooting and made all eight of his free throws in the first half. He added five rebounds and four assists in the opening 24 minutes. Harden sank all 12 of his foul shots in the contest.
Durant and Harden combined to score 15 of the Nets’ final 17 points in the first half as Brooklyn took a 62-41 lead into intermission. They traded corner three-pointers over the final two minutes of the first half.
The 21-point lead was Brooklyn’s biggest halftime advantage of the season, with its previous high coming with a 59-42 lead over Washington on October 25.
Durant and Harden have each played in all 16 games this season. Wednesday was Brooklyn’s third back-to-back of the year.
"Hopefully by the end of the year, we’ve struck the right balance and put them in a position to navigate the season and to not be overburdened," Nash said. "And hopefully be as fresh as they possibly could be at the end of the year."
But Cleveland didn’t fade away in the second half. The Cavaliers outscored the Nets by 32-19 in the third quarter to cut Brooklyn’s lead to 81-73 after the period. Ricky Rubio scored seven of his 25 points and Darius Garland scored seven of his 24 points for Cleveland in the third quarter.
Patty Mills added 21 points, including 6-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc. He made a key three-pointer to quiet a Cleveland comeback effort and give the Nets an 86-75 lead with 10:26 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland cut Brooklyn’s lead to seven points (96-89) with 4:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.
By Owen O'Brien
owen.o'brien@newsday.com
SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER
MOST POPULAR
Syndergaard headed to Angels
How much does Cano have left?
Lennon: Syndergaard was no longer in a NY state of mind
Massapequa defeats Shenendehowa to win Class AA state championship
West Islip boys soccer wins first state title in school history
LATEST NETS HEADLINES
Nets head coach Steve Nash reacts during theNash sees more work before Nets are top tier team
Golden State guard Stephen Curry reacts after heNets routed by Steph Curry and Golden State
Nets' Kyrie Irving during the first half ofNets attacking rim less without Kyrie Irving
Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets celebrates aMills' 3-ball gives Nets a dynamic third scoring option
A view of the shoes worn by TyreseThe sneakers of the NBA so far in 2021
Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets reacts duringHot Nets return home to face the best of the West
