Play.
In the 4th of the Nets' win, Harden and Kyrie combined for 26 points.
In the fourth quarter of the Nets' game against the Spurs, James Harden and Kyrie Irving combined for 26 points. There is a time and a place for it.
12:55 AM
James Harden and his teammate on the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving, had a confrontation on the bench.
Irving said that James yelled at him. He yelled at me after he scored 12 points in the third quarter. I took that personally. I wanted to play within the flow of the offense and come out in the fourth quarter in an aggressive mindset.
Irving responded to his co-star's challenge by scoring 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Nets romped to a 117-102 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Harden had 11 points in the final quarter as the Nets' superstars were only two points shy of matching the Spurs' total.
It was only the fifth game that Harden and Irving have played together this season, as Irving, who is unvaccinated against COVID-19, has missed most of the season due to New York City ordinances and the Nets opting against using him on a part-time basis until recently. Their best performance so far this season was in the fourth quarter.
"For sure, it was a breakthrough," said Harden, who finished with 37 points, 10 rebound and 11 assists. At any point in the game, he's capable of doing that.
"That's one of the reasons why we need him every single game, because he's able to do that, especially with everything that's going on with our team." He's capable of doing things like that whenever he wants. I think he tries to get us more involved, but he's a special talent.
The Nets are 18-4 over the past two seasons when Harden and Irving play, and they are even better without Kevin Durant, who is expected to miss at least a month with a left knee injury. This was the first time this season that Harden and Irving had scored at least 60 points in the same game.
Irving said that they have a good rhythm between one another of just getting out of each other's way but also demanding each other to play at that level. It opens the space for everyone when we do it as a duo or a tandem. I don't see many teams that can keep up with the pace we're playing at.
Brooklyn is back at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Harden offered proof that his lack of explosiveness is no longer a concern after he dunked in the third quarter. He drove down the lane, elevated and dunked over Poeltl, one of the NBA's best rim protectors, to the delight of Nets teammates who Harden joked didn't think he could dunk anymore.
Harden said that he was definitely back. We've had a lot of injuries and the situation with Kai, so it's been a busy year for us.
It's difficult to get a rhythm, but we have to continue to fight, take one game at a time and push through. Eventually, this thing is going to come together, where we're all together, and we all make a huge run at it.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
