The Nets, struggling and without Kyrie Irving, needed something positive in the worst way. What they achieved was a sublime performance by Kevin Durant.
The former MVP looked single, lifting the Nets from a huge deficit to a 122-116 victory over the Nuggets Tuesday night at the Barclays Center.
The Nets finished with 18 points in the third quarter before meeting to advance. Again, 113-111, at the end of the fourth quarter, they withdrew 10 unanswered points to end the Nuggets.
“It was definitely necessary, especially after a bad loss in the last game and, most importantly, starting to go down 18,” Durant said. “You have seen that the boys are proud and want to compete. And everyone came. ”
Durant added 34 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. Fourteen of his points came during a 32-7 third-quarter run that turned an 18-point hole into a seven-point lead. He and ace defender Bruce Brown led the rally along the stretch.
Brown finished with 16 points and six boards, while Caris LeVert added 20 points, six assists and five boards off the bench.
“This man is different,” Brown said of Durant. “I think I stole rebounds and didn’t get a triple-double. I didn’t even know it; I would have let him get it. But this man is different.
“It’s just a bucket to walk on. … I had never seen a player like that ».
The Nets, who tied their 6-6 record, play the Knicks in the field on Wednesday.
“It was a great victory. I think we needed it for our soul. They’ve thrown a lot of things at us, a lot of new things, ”said coach Steve Nash, who challenged his team at the break.“ We asked them to compete in the second half, to physically increase their level, to demand and compete they won small battles. That’s what they did and got a victory. “
Denver’s Nikola Jokic (23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds) and Jamal Murray (20 points) have given the Nets ahead.
A pair of Murray baskets gave the Nuggets an 18-point lead early in the third quarter, first at 74-56 and then again at 76-58 with 10:32 left for the end.
That’s when the Nets chained an eight-minute, 32-7 run to regain control of the game. A team that couldn’t buy a stop in the first half forced the Nuggets to shoot just 3 of 12 with four losses in that stretch.
This fueled the fast break and Durant had 14 points at the start, along with four assists: the last was a contribution to Prince Taurean for a finger throw he made 90-83 with 2:36 in the third.
The Nuggets put themselves ahead again at 111-109 before the Nets tied it at 111 on an offensive rebound and Brown’s strong push.
Jokic put Denver ahead again in 113-111 before the Nets used a 10-0 run to seal it. Brown got a rebound to score and, after an offensive foul from Will Barton, added a baseline float to take a 115-113 lead at one end and a defensive board at the other.
Durant’s jumper made it 117-113 with 1:14 to play, and the Nets forced Murray to fail. Durant’s 3-point dagger froze her.
“I feel like I’ve been at a good pace and got ahead,” said Durant, who surpassed Adrian Dantley, Elgin Baylor and Dwyane Wade on the NBA’s all-time goal list. “I mean, I feel good, man.”