By Derrel Jazz Johnson
In front of a star-studded crowd that included director Spike Lee, comedian Tracey Morgan, and hip-hop artist Meek Mill, Brooklyn Nets superstar James Harden came out and set the pace for his team with a season-high 28 points on 8-12 shooting from the field in the first half, and says he was inspired by an old nemesis of the New York Knicks. But it was ultimately a 14-0 run to begin the second half, and 11 big points by Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter that led to the 112-110 victory by the Nets over their crosstown rivals.
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
Harden discussed the inspiration from the conversation after the game. “Yeah, it was definitely (the conversation with Miller)”, Harden admitted. “Reggie is the one that got me going. He got me going for sure. But yeah, it was just ultimate confidence, the best-player-in-the-league type of mindset. That was motivation before the game.” Harden became the fourth player in the history of the league to score 2,500 career 3-point field goals joining Ray Allen, Stephen Curry and Miller. Harden and Curry are the only players in NBA history with 300 3-pointers in one season.
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The pro Knicks crowd at Barclays Center propelled the Knicks to overcome a 11-point fourth quarter deficit and even took a 1-point lead (96-95) with 6:45 left in the game. With New York up 102-101, Durant drains two straight jump shots giving the Nets a 107-105 lead. The Knicks would not quit however. With the Nets up 3 (110-107) Knicks sharpshooter Evan Fournier nails a 3-pointer to tie the game. The next Brooklyn sequence had the Knicks seeing red. Double teaming Durant, forcing him to give up the ball, he passes to James Johnson who attempts a lay-up. It appears Mitch Robinson strips Johnson off the ball but the refs call a foul. Johnson converts the two free throws and Fournier’s last second 3-point attempt hits the back of the rim as the Nets escape with the win. Said second year head coach Tom Thibodeau of the way the refs called the game, “there’s a big discrepancy in free throws,” he began.
“I don’t really care how the game’s called, I really don’t. You can call it tight, you call it loose, but it’s gotta be the same.”
Durant talked about his big performance and closing out the win. “I wanted the one-on-one situation to just go out there and get a bucket,” he said of a key possession. “But I saw D-Rose creeping and if I would’ve went into my move, he would’ve just jumped me so I just tried to be patient and waited for it to open up, and James became available and went down the lane. He was aggressive enough to the rim and was able to knock those free throws down.”
Second year Nets head coach Steve Nash was not surprised at the support of the Knicks fans on the Nets home court. “We know it’s going to be a pro-Knicks crowd. The Knicks have been around for 75 years if I’m not mistaken,” he said. “We understand that, so it’s an opportunity for our team to rise to the challenge and defend our home court.”
The Knicks host Chicago Thursday night and Denver Saturday night while the Nets host Minnesota Friday and Chicago Saturday.
Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
