James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets enters the game in the second quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Barclays Center on May 12, 2021 in Brooklyn. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP
James Harden collected 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in his return from a strained right hamstring as the Brooklyn Nets posted a 128-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night in New York.
Harden came off the bench for the first time since April 22, 2012, when he was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played under a minutes restriction after missing the previous 18 games, and he wound up logging 25:44 of court time in his first game since April 5.
After spending most of the game facilitating others, Harden scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 1:53 left that gave the Nets a 122-108 lead and essentially sealed it.
James Harden goes for 18 PTS, 7 REB, 11 AST in his return to action, pacing the @BrooklynNets win vs. SAS! #BrooklynTogether pic.twitter.com/30d3gUrXFX
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2021
The Nets (46-24) won their third straight and moved within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn also inched 1 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks in the race for the No. 2 seed.
Landry Shamet led the Nets with 21 points on a night when Kyrie Irving sat out after sustaining a facial contusion in the team’s Tuesday win at Chicago.
Nicolas Claxton contributed a career-high 18 points, Jeff Green added 16 and Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown chipped in 14 apiece as the Nets shot 60.8 percent from the floor and handed out 33 assists. Brown added 11 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, but San Antonio (33-36) dropped three games behind the ninth-place Memphis Grizzlies in the West and lost for the seventh time in nine games. Dejounte Murray and Patty Mills added 15 apiece for the Spurs, who shot 42.6 percent and made only 8 of 31 3-point attempts. Murray also collected 11 rebounds.
Brooklyn shot 65.2 percent and held a 35-20 lead through the first quarter. San Antonio got within 44-42 on a layup by DeRozan with 5:13 remaining in the second quarter, but Brooklyn held a 57-51 lead at halftime.
The Nets gradually pulled away in the third as Harden’s 3-pointer made it 95-78 with 2:33 left, and Brooklyn led 96-81 entering the fourth.