KEVIN Durant heated up in the third quarter as Brooklyn Nets scored a 117-108 victory over Atlanta Hawks in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
With the score tied at 75-all, Durant drained seven straight points to put the Nets ahead, 82-75. Another two pointer and a triple by Durant widened Brooklyn’s lead to 95-79.
In the fourth quarter, it was the turn of Patrick Mills to heat up for the Nets. He drilled three straight triples to preserve a 104-90 edge. James Harden then gave the Nets its biggest lead at 113-96 on back-to-back treys.
Durant finished the match with 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Joe Harris converted six triples to end up with 18 markers as the Nets rises to 5-3 win-loss slate.
Harden had double-double 16 points and 11 assists, Mills contributed 14 markers, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Bruce Brown tallied 10 points apiece for the Nets.
DeAndre Hunter tallied season-high 26 points, Trae Young flirted with triple-double with 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Kevin Huerter chipped in 16 points as the Hawks dropped to 4-4.
Meanwhile, shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers (5-4) pulled off a 107-104 escape over Portland Trail Blazers (3-5) at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Holding to a 107-101 lead after a basket by Collin Sexton with under two minutes left, the Blazers trimmed to 104-107 on three straight points from Damian Lillard.
The Cavaliers misfired on its basket on the other end but the Blazers could not send the match into overtime with Lillard missing his three-point attempt.
Jarrett Allen tallied double-double 24 points and 17 rebounds, Sexton added 21 markers, while Darius Garland chipped in 19 points and 10 assists for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers were undermanned heading into the match with forwards Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen absent after entering the league’s coronavirus disease 2019 health and safety protocols.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 117 — Durant 32, Harris 18, Harden 16, Mills 14, Aldridge 10, Brown 10, Bembry 8, Griffin 7, Millsap 2, Carter 0.
ATLANTA 108 — Hunter 26, Young 21, Huerter 16, Capela 13, Collins 13, Bogdanovic 8, Gallinari 7, Williams 2, Reddish 2, Dieng 0.
Quarterscores: 35-28, 61-59, 95-79, 117-108./PN
