James Harden has not been his aggressive being since he came from Houston, still trying to position himself in that fine line of his new team. But with Kevin Durant finally deadly for the first time, Harden led the Nets to victory.
Closing in a fourth quarter with the Eastern Conference champions, Harden took what had been a tight game and turned it into a 98-85 Miami blast Monday night at the Barclays Center.
With Brooklyn clinging to an 81-80 edge that, at best, was tenuous, Harden and Irving caused a 15-0 run that sidelined the abbreviated Heat shorts.
“Huge for us. We didn’t have the best scoring night offensively, defensively we stayed with her, it was very, very difficult for them, ”Harden said.“ Offensively we didn’t play well, but defensively I thought we were active out there, we played shots and the we put the hardest things as a team. “
Harden finished with 20 points, eight assists and four rebounds, while Durant added 20 and 13 boards. While Harden hasn’t been his typical self since arriving from Houston in a four-team mega-deal, with Durant struggling from the floor, it was Harden who scored 10 points in that crucial race.
“Just be aggressive. I wasn’t very aggressive throughout the game. This area shook us a bit in the sense of wanting to slow us down. They went into the hands of a few possessions and I let go a bit, so my teammates give me confidence to throw basketball, be aggressive and that’s it.
“I understand, only five games have passed and that’s why we have a long season. Once we find that balance, our team will be much better. But it’s still early. As we learn, we try to accumulate as many victories as we can. It’s a great feeling when you can do both. “
Before the game, Steve Nash had admitted he wanted Harden to be more aggressive. On Monday, the triple scoring champion had little choice.
Durant struggled to shoot 6 of 21, including a 2 of 13 start. But the Nets still found a way to win.
“I just wanted to be a little more aggressive. You obviously know Kevin and Kyrie [Irving] they are really good scorers. The easy shots that were missed usually make them, “Harden said.” We wanted to finish the fourth quarter the right way and we did it defensively. “
Brooklyn’s mischievous defense kept Miami at just 14th in the fourth quarter as the Nets won for the sixth time in eight games.
The Heat (6-10) played without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro; but they defended and scrapped as all Erik Spoelstra’s teams do. And they tested the Nets with 2-3 zones and 3-2 zones, getting Brooklyn’s 12-game series in a row with more than 110 points.
“They definitely changed the game, turned it into a physical game and were able to hold on until the end of the quarter,” Durant said. “Our defense held up the whole game strongly and once we were able to start making some shots there in the fourth, we were able to pull away, but our defense won us that game for sure.”
Brooklyn came out colder than the weather. The Nets missed their first five shots when they fell into a quick 8-0 hole, and set the tone for much of the night. They fired just 4 against 21 in the first quarter and missed their first 11 attempts from behind the arc, until Joe Harris finally hit from the depths with 9:30 in the half.
The Nets still went 45-38 with a minute to go (and in the third 61-56) before they finally started to gain strength.
Caught on an 81-80 edge, Harden punched a 3-yard pass with 4:59 left, and then a throw to advance to six. After Harden’s infamous defense grew big at the other end, blocking Kendrick Nunn, Irving’s bucket made it 88-80 with 3:54 to play.
Harden and Harris added 3 toes to set him at 16, hitting a dagger in Miami.
“The boys were tired,” Nash said. “We couldn’t buy a basket. We looked really good. Tired throwing the ball, but also tired as we were a bit stuck against the area after a really good performance against it the other night. Overall, it was just the fact of hanging out there, and James stepped up and made some big shots along the stretch. “