Durant, Irving carry Nets to triumph over Hawks
FILE — Kevin Durant high-fives Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center on December 30, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Kyrie Irving added 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets outlasted the Atlanta Hawks for a wild 145-141 victory in New York.
Durant registered his first double-double as a Net by adding 11 rebounds, and he missed his 13th career triple-double by two assists. After sitting out for the first time Monday, Durant shot 11 of 22 from the floor and made all nine of his free throws.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Nets placed seven players in double figures.
Joe Harris added 23 points, and the Nets never trailed after his 3-pointer made it 123-120 with 6:27 remaining. Jarrett Allen added 15 points and 13 rebounds, Landry Shamet contributed 14 points, Taurean Prince chipped in 12 and Caris LeVert had 10 for Brooklyn, which shot 54 percent from the floor and sank 19 3-pointers.
John Collins and Trae Young scored 30 points apiece for the Hawks, who were seeking their first 4-0 start since 2010-11. Bogdan Bogdanovic hit six 3-pointers and added 22 points for Atlanta, which shot 47.5 percent and knocked down 18 3-pointers.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Hawks got 20 points from Cam Reddish and 11 from De’Andre Hunter.
Irving started slowly but heated up in the final 12 minutes after a 3 of 16 start. He shot 7 of 11 in the fourth and hit an array of shots, including a layup with about four minutes left where he split four defenders for a 132-128 lead.
Irving’s 3-pointer put Brooklyn up 137-132 with 2:01 remaining and the lead was down to 137-136 after John Collins hit two free throws with 45 seconds left. On the next possession, Irving hit a 10-foot fadeaway in the lane over De’Andre Hunter with 32.5 seconds left for a 139-136 edge.
After Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer with 26.9 seconds left, Allen seized the rebound and Irving connected with Durant for a baseline dunk that made it 141-136 with 15.6 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Hunter made it 141-139 with 8.8 seconds remaining but Durant iced it at the line with 6.3 seconds remaining.
Atlanta appeared to be getting separation late in the third when a 3-pointer by Solomon Hill gave them a 103-94 lead with 1:16 left. Brooklyn quickly countered with an 8-1 spurt on two layups by Prince sandwiched around a Durant 3-pointer and Atlanta led 104-102 entering the fourth.
