Until global warming, James Harden was almost a DNP. Once the game was a pinnacle, he looked like an MVP.
With his Nets gritty, Harden refused to let them run short. He shrugged off a neck injury that left him questionable and led the Nets to a trailing 116-112 win over Portland at Moda Center.
The Big Three narrowed down to a Big One, Harden had 25 points, a season with 17 assists and seven rebounds, despite playing in pain, nearly holding him down.
‘Very close, actually. I couldn’t really be myself, really show my full range of motion, a little bit of everything, ”said Harden. But no excuses. I tried to fight and my team needed me. I tried to go out and just do my best. And hopefully that was good enough. “
Clearly. With Kyrie Irving out, Jeff Green, Joe Harris and Nic Claxton all picked up the slack when the Nets took a come-from-behind victory.
After having to concede 41 points in the first quarter, the defense came to rest in the course of the match. They kept Portland at just 21 in the fourth on .318 shooting.
“A lot better in the last three quarters,” said Steve Nash. “We struggled defensively in the first quarter. I thought we were a bit indecisive. Made too many mistakes, mental mistakes. But the last three quarters, 25, 25, 21 points have been very good. We kept telling them throughout the game, our defense just keeps getting better. Stick with it, keep getting better, and they did. They did a great job. They fought, they fought, our rebound got better and we were able to stop. “
The Nets (30-14) won for the 16th time in their last 18 games, running their team record winning streak against Western Conference foes to nine in a row. They advanced to a half game behind Philadelphia for first place in the Eastern Conference.
And they did without Irving (family issue), Kevin Durant (hamstring), Landry Shamet (ankle) and Spencer Dinwiddie (ACL). That’s how good Harden was.
“I like hoops. I love taking on the challenge of finding a way to win games. In basketball, nothing will be perfect, ”said Harden, adding that he will play Utah if he is able to. “I just go out and try to impress when I can play without risking [real injury]
The Nets used a 16-5 run to take a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. It was three with the ball and another 16.5 seconds when Harden was charged with a turnover, Derrick Jones Jr. won a jump ball against Claxton (16 points, nine boards). Brooklyn made an error and Robert Covington made only one of two free throws to make it 114-112.
Green (20 points) hit the mark.
The Nets kept Damian Lillard (22 points) and CJ McCollum 7 of 26 from deep, including 0-for-7 in the crucial closing period. Now they have NBA leading Utah lurking at the end of a brutal back-to-back, and Detroit on Friday.
“We’ve played extremely well on the road, especially against Western Conference teams,” said Harris, who had 17 points. “But I think over the course of today’s game we have shown a level of resilience that good teams are showing.”
The Nets were leading 69-68 after an attack from Bruce Brown. But they coughed up a 9-1 run capped by a Jones Jr. 3 who made it 77-70 with 8:32 over in the third quarter.
The Nets were left behind 88-84 after a setback by the well-known Nets killer Enes Kanter. They responded by hurling a run of 16-5, including the first six unanswered runs.
She put on a bucket of Blake Griffin 96-93. And Claxton had a tip-in and transition layout to give the Nets their biggest advantage of the night at 100-93 with 10:03 to play.
When the Nets saw the lead shrink to second on Covington’s running 3-pointer, Harden found Tyler Johnson for a 3 of his own to answer. Claxton filled it back to 110-103 with 5:24 left. It could have been a lob from Harden, or a missed float; anyway, it was a seven point edge.