NEW YORK — It’s an improbable, implausible scenario, but with the Nets severely shorthanded because of health and safety protocols thepast two games, the "Kevin Durant and the Kids" show has been wildly entertaining. Durant once again carried the Nets with 13 points in the final eight minutes of a 114-105 victory over the 76ers Thursday night at Barclays Center.
The Nets saw a 20-point second period lead shrink to two late in the third quarter, and after they built it back to 11 early in the fourth, they committed five turnovers to fuel a 12-2 run that cut the 76ers’ deficit to 92-91 on a layup by Matthias Thybulle with 8:19 left to play.
Durant was on the bench during that 76ers run. After he returned, Durant hit a three to give the Nets breathing room, then responded to tying baskets by Joel Embiid with a go-ahead jumper and a four-point play for a 107-103 lead with 1:46 to play.
In his previous two games, Durant became the first player in Nets history to follow a 50-point game with a triple-double. He pretty much picked up where he left off with 34 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to pace the Nets (20-8). They also got 17 points and nine rebounds from Blake Griffin, 17 points from Nic Claxton and shot 47.8% from three-point range (11 of 23).
The 76ers (15-14) were led by Embiid with 32 points and nine rebounds and got 29 points from Seth Curry, but the Nets held them to 29.4% from three-point range (10 of 34).
Earlier this season, it was the 76ers who were hit hardest by COVID-19. As it turned out, they lost Georges Niang to health and safety protocols on Thursday, but they dressed 12 players to the Nets’ nine, but they were on the second night of a back-to-back and coming off two straight losses.
"They’re an excellent team," Nets coach Steve Nash said. "We know Joel is a perennial NBA MVP candidate these days, he’s a matchup nightmare. We’re really going to have to be switched on tonight to take away some of the easy ones they’re able to get."
Once again, all four Nets rookies were in line for major playing time, including starting guard David Duke Jr. with Cam Thomas, Kessler Edwards and Day’Ron Sharpe off the bench. Edwards and Duke both were coming off double-double efforts in Tuesday’s win over the Raotors.
"Well, they’re very productive clearly," Nash said. "I thought they defended, they rebounded and they were able to score the ball and affect the game on offense as well. They both have NBA physicality, they’re both good defenders and have size at their positions, and I think they both have capabilities offensively to develop into good players."
After a slow start, the Nets went on a 24-15 run, including eight points from Thomas and six from Durant to build a 39-25 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Another 13-4 surge early in the second period pushed their lead to 19.
The 76ers responded with a 9-0 surge to cut their deficit to 10, but once again, the Nets answered with a 12-2 surge, including four points from Duke, to lead by 20 before settling for a 66-48 halftime margin. It was the second straight 66-point first half by the Nets.
But just as they did against the Raptors, the Nets had a third-quarter letdown against the 76ers, who opened the second half with a 19-7 run, including nine points from Embiid and seven from Curry to cut their deficit to 73-67. The Nets regained a double-digit lead, but another 10-2 Sixers burst made it a two-point game before the Nets pushed it to 85-79 at the end of the third quarter.
