With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out, James Harden turned in an MVP performance to lift the Nets to victory.
He also carried them to the top of the Eastern Conference.
After sleepwalking early and digging themselves a huge hole, the Nets refused to rest on their laurels and stormed back for a 124-115 win over the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. And Harden was at the heart of the rally.
The Big 3 were down to a Big 1, but that one was Harden, who had 40 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds — just the second 40-point triple double in team history (joining Vince Carter in 2007). The Nets needed all of that as they rallied from a 16-point hole and 96-92 fourth-quarter deficit to move into a first-place tie with the 76ers in the East.
“It’s not even about the triple-double, it’s about our effort. Especially that second half we did an unbelievable job defensively, just getting after it. That’s it,” Harden said. “Being down 15 points, and on the road — its a pretty solid team — we just kept fighting, showed resilience. So it’s a great team win for us.”
The Nets’ only other win with Harden playing and both Durant and Irving out came in Phoenix. In that one, Harden poured in 38 to drag them out of a 24-point hole. He pulled off an encore Wednesday.
“I don’t want to be down 15. I don’t want to be down,” Harden said. “They’re a good team. We turned the ball over, we didn’t rebound the basketball in that first half. Second half we did the opposite, we gave ourselves a chance.
“Obviously we don’t want to get used to having KD and Kyrie out of the lineup, but if we do, then guys have to be ready to step up.”
Despite going small early, the Nets actually hammered Indiana 15-4 on the offensive glass, and Nic Claxton (11 points, eight boards, plus-24) had a hand in that.
After trailing 43-27 in the second quarter, the Nets were still down 96-92 following a TJ McConnell jumper with 10:27 left. That’s when Harden and Claxton took over in a decisive 17-4 run over the next five minutes.
It was the first time Claxton has ever been trusted to close out an NBA game, and the second-year big man repaid coach Steve Nash’s faith.
Harden’s finger roll capped the spurt and put the Nets ahead 109-100 with 5:23 left to play. By when he found Claxton for an alley-oop, it was 115-106 with 1:12 remaining in regulation.
“I’ve definitely never played with anybody like [Harden],” Claxton said. “He’s definitely one-of-one.”
Harden crammed an entire game into the fourth quarter, playing every second and posting 14 points, six boards and four assists, all while the Pacers were desperately trying to blitz the ball out of his hands.
“I’ll never take it for granted, but we’re getting used to it. That’s a quarter he had while they were double-teaming him. Remarkable performance, without Ky. He made some huge plays down the stretch, but overall it was just such demands on James to deliver,” Nash said. “Outstanding. Goes without saying pretty incredible performance from James.”
Claxton had six points, four boards and two blocks in that fourth quarter. Though the Nets had played drop coverage early with DeAndre Jordan, Claxton’s ability to switch helped to finally slow Domantas Sabonis, who had 14 points in the first quarter, but none in the fourth.
“It shows the coaching staff believes in me, but at the end of the day, it just starts with me believing in myself,” Claxton said. “A lot of people think we traded away all our depth, but I’ve been around, and people didn’t know that. So it feels good to be out there, playing and doing my thing.”
The Nets have won 14 of their last 15 games, and an NBA-best six straight. The victory, coupled with the 76ers’ loss to the Bucks, left them tied atop the East standings.
“To be honest, I don’t think we really think about that too much,” said Joe Harris, who had 19 points. “We’re really just pretty simply trying to come out and win every single night.”
