Brooklyn Nets: James Harden Basks in the Phoenix Sun

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

TUESDAY

Nets   128

Suns   124

FINAL

James Harden Enjoys His Moonlanding Day; The Beard is Officially a Net

No Kevin Durant; no Kyrie Irving; no problem, this time.

But, yeah, James Harden leads the Nets to their largest halftime deficit comeback victory in club history.

From the opening tip, former (bitter) teammates James Harden and Chris Paul lock in a tit-for-tat.  Paul shoots 12/20 from the field, including 4/8 from behind the arc, to lead the Suns with 29 points and seven assists in 35 minutes.  However, Harden wins the battle and the war.  The Beard goes 14/22 from the field, 5/11 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 5/5 from the line for a game-high 38 points to go along with a game-high eleven assists.

The last time Flatbush was forced to play minus Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving was against the Sixers.  Harden scored 26 points and handed out ten assists in that game, but the Nets still lost by 16 points at Philadelphia.  This game was heading down a similar path.  Brooklyn gets outscored by eleven points in the first quarter, then by ten points in the second quarter for a 21-point deficit at the half.  The Suns' lead reached as high as 24 points when Chris Paul nailed a three with 1:33 left in the second quarter.  

Then starts the comeback ...

Fueled by a defensive effort perhaps inspired by a lockerroom ass-chewing on top of the one they received after the Detroit Piston flop, Brooklyn limited the Suns to 25 points in the third while closing the gap to twelve points.  The Nets still trailed 113-108 with five minutes left in the fourth.  After which James Harden took charge of the game.  But whereas Chris Paul placed everything upon himself, James Harden incorporated his mates.  The Beard assisted on a Jeff Green three, and Paul answered.  Harden then assisted on a Joe Harris three, and Chris Paul again answered.  Harden then took his turn sinking a floater, but Paul answered yet again.  On the next possession, Harden fed Jeff Green, who hit another three from the corner at 2:21 to bring the Nets within five.  At the 1:39 mark, Harden's two-pointer makes the score 124-121, Suns.  Jeff Green's layup closes the gap to one point.  Harden then nails a huge three-pointer giving the Nets a two-point lead.  With 11.3 seconds left, Harden's two free throws seal the game.  Chris Paul's last-ditch three-pointer misses the mark as is appropriately rebounded by James Harden.  Flatbush closes out the game on a 12-0 run, turning a one-time 24-point deficit into a four-point victory.

Harden's 38-points are a season-high in regulation time; he scored 44-points in Houston's opening night overtime game against Portland.  It's the seventh time this season he's achieved 30-plus points and his fourth time since joining the Nets.

These are the types of games when Joe Harris needs to step it up.  A catalyst on the defensive end; he did just that.  His three-pointer at 3:55 of the fourth quarter reduced the Suns' lead to four.  Harris finished 8/13 from the field, including 4/9 from behind the arc en route to a 22-point game.  It's the seventh time in thirty games Harris has achieved twenty or more points.  Getting the start, Tyler Johnson shoots an effective 5/8 from behind the arc on his way to a 17-point night with five rebounds in 32 minutes.

An integral part of this victory, Jeff Green was 7/14 from the field and 2/3 from the line for 18-points with a team-high eight rebounds off the bench, and Landry Shamet contributed 13-points in 28 minutes. 

The Nets are now winners of four in a row and are 3-0 on this west coast swing.

• Next Up: the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.