When asked which Nets star faces the biggest threat to his team, Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said he was afraid of everything. He was right to have feared the dreadful Hours.
The big three led the Nets to a back-to-back victory with 132-128 overtime hours in Atlanta. And what they didn’t do, Jeff Green and Bruce Brown did.
“I just got rid of her. They were just fine edges, they made enough baskets, they made enough hectic games, enough recoveries, just to cross the line “, said coach Steve Nash. “It was not nice, but I found a way. We’ll take it. ”
Kevin Durant had a maximum score of 32 points. Kyrie Irving added 26 points and seven assists, while James Harden looked more aggressive as he played in better shape and greater comfort with his teammates.
Harden – who said it would be Scary Hours once the Big Three synchronized – had 31 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds.
“It simply came to our notice then. We just want him to come into this group and not think so much about fitting in, but just being who he is. We want it to continue to progress and grow, “Irving said. “We all realize that we have another level to reach individually and then collectively as a group.”
Nets (12-8) are constantly advancing at this level. They rallied from a 90-83 hole in the fourth quarter to win for the seventh time in the last nine.
“Just [proud of] our struggle. Obviously, throughout the game, there are races that you just have to be able to resist. We just want to stay resilient, “said Irving. “Just have a non-stop to deal with the storm throughout the game, no matter what happens, with or without blows. That’s definitely what I’m most proud of. “
Trae Young had 28 points for the Hawks (9-9), but the Nets bench and the defense of the team that – both were offended – came with enough games to improve to 5-2 since the acquisition of Harden. It was the perfect way to start a tough 10 with 13 on the road.
“It’s huge, especially when we’re in business,” Green said. “The transfer from the last game – as we said – was there. We showed resistance and we struggled with the whole game when things were not going our way. But we showed character, and that will take us on the road. ”
Joe Harris was held without a pointer for the first time in 79 games. But he defended well, while Green and Brown supported the big three. Brown had 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Nets get back into the game.
Down 90-83 in the fourth after a Danilo Gallinari 3, the Nets responded with a 9-0 run.
A Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot 3 followed by free throws thrown in deficit. Harden’s unassuming pass gave Brown a pair of free throws to tie the knot, and he found Green for a John Collins poster (21 points) to go 92-90.
The rest of the regulation was tightened before Harden missed a step back 3 in the final seconds. Brown took the ball away from Collins by 0.3 seconds to keep overtime, where the Nets won it.
“When we needed stops, we got stops, especially that fourth-quarter unit with Bruce and Joe and Jeff and TLC did an incredible job of just being shot, giving the ball back, creating energy.” said Harden. “That was the turning point.”
After he was transformed, the Nets never let him return. Irving put them on the board first in the OT with a stuttering step, and a Harris theft led to a green transition and a 120-116 lead that they never handed over.
Young pulled the Hawks 122-121, but after Harden hit Green for a 3, the Nets were back with four. Then, Green’s theft triggered a quick Durant shot and a 127-121 margin, with 2:46 to play.
At 129-126, Durant’s turnover gave Atlanta a chance; but the Nets had a stop when they needed it. They forced a De’Andre Hunter (21 points) missed 3 points and grabbed the key racket with half a minute left.
Harden won a line trip and froze it with 4.6 seconds left.