MANILA – James Harden hardly skipped a beat in his return from a hamstring injury, as the Brooklyn Nets cruised to a 128-116 victory over San Antonio Spurs in the 2020-2021 National Basketball Association Season on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The former NBA MVP awardee was efficient in his first game in almost a month as he tallied 18 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 25 minutes of action.
Harden was most effective in the fourth period after hitting consecutive baskets, as the Spurs trimmed the Nets’ 108-89 advantage to a 111-100 lead with over five minutes remaining in the game.
Harden’s two pointers and triples, along with late conversions by Jeff Green, had widened the advantage for Brooklyn at 125-110 en route to their third consecutive win.
Landry Shamet top-scored with 21 points, while Nicholas Claxton posted a career-high 18 markers and Green contributed 16 for the Nets which remained at second in the East with a 46-24 slate.
Demar DeRozan tallied 21 points, while Dejounte Murray and Patty Mills added 15 markers apiece as the Spurs dropped to 10th place in the Western Conference with 33-36.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Hawks (39-31) caught fire in the endgame to score a come-from-behind 120-116 victory over Washington Wizards (32-38), tightening its hold on the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Down 116-111 with over a minute remaining, the Hawks converted back-to-back triples from Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins to take a 117-116 lead with 24.6 seconds left.
Following missed conversions from the Wizards, the Hawks completed the turnaround with free throw connections by Solomon Hill and Kevin Huerter.
Trae Young top-scored with 33 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Bogdanovic and Collins added 20 and 18 markers, respectively, while Clint Capela had double-double 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks.
Kevin Love, on the other hand, had his best game of the season as the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-48) upsets Boston Celtics (35-35), 102-94. Love had double-double 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs./PN
