Harden pushes red-hot Nets past Pacers

Posts 11th triple-double as Brooklyn pulls out another win

March 18, 2021 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

James Harden's 11th triple-double as a Net lifted Brooklyn over Indiana Wednesday night. AP Photo by Michael Conroy

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Forget the three-star system. Kevin Durant is still sidelined with a hamstring strain.

On Wednesday in Indiana, the Brooklyn Nets didn’t even have two stars as Kyrie Irving was given the night off to nurse a groin injury.

That left James Harden to carry the load against the Pacers, and the Nets’ Most Valuable Player candidate did just that.

“It’s a remarkable performance,” Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash gushed after Harden put up 40 points, handed out 15 assists and grabbed 10 boards in Brooklyn’s come-from-behind 124-115 triumph over Indiana at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“(Harden) made some huge plays down the stretch. … All the other guys played their part, but James was the main guy, as we’ve come to expect.”

Expectations can be daunting for a former league MVP joining a team with NBA title hopes and two of the sport’s top-10 players already on the roster.

But Harden hasn’t blinked.

Instead, he has thrived under the pressure of playing in the nation’s biggest media market.

“The Beard” has posted 11 triple-doubles in his first 27 games with the Nets (28-13) and Brooklyn has strung together an ongoing franchise-record eight-game road winning streak and 14 victories in its last 15 games overall behind Harden’s hardwood mastery.

Even without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Wednesday night, the Nets found a way to extend their franchise-record road winning streak to eight games. AP Photo by Jeff Chiu

The surge has also thrust Brooklyn into a tie with Philadelphia for the top record in the Eastern Conference.

Trailing the Pacers (17-22) by as many as 16 points in the second half, it would have been easy for the Nets to take the rest of the night off and hope for a better fate Friday night in Orlando, where Irving will likely return to action while Durant continues to ramp up activities ahead of his comeback.

Harden wouldn’t let it happen.

He lit up Indiana for 14 points, six rebounds and four assists in the fourth quarter, sparking a comeback that saw Brooklyn outscore the Pacers 35-24 over the final 12 minutes.

“That’s a quarter he had while they were double-teaming him a lot of the quarter,” Nash noted.

“Remarkable performance, without Ky. He made some huge plays down the stretch, but overall it was just such demands on James to deliver.”

And deliver he has, seemingly every game since he first showed up at the team’s practice facility in Sunset Park back in mid-January.

“Obviously, we don’t want to get used to having K.D. and Kyrie out of the lineup,” Harden said. “But if we do, guys have got to be ready to step up.”

Joe Harris poured in 19 points and Jeff Green and Tyler Johnson scored 15 apiece for Brooklyn, which surrendered 40 points in the opening quarter before Harden and company began reeling the Pacers in.

“I just kept preaching to guys before the game that it’s the next man up,” said the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month. “Whoever has the opportunity to touch that floor be ready to go. Know your assignments, know what you’re supposed to be doing and stay locked in detail wise.

“We don’t make excuses. Guys are in and out of lineups but whoever’s in the lineup, whoever’s suiting up, be ready to go, be ready to perform and do whatever it takes to help our team get the win. That’s the kind of mindset we’ve been on so nothing fazes us at this point.”

Unfazed and unwilling to surrender, Harden and the Nets appear ready to live up to their lofty expectations and perhaps even exceed them this year.

With one more triple-double, James Harden will match Jason Kidd for the Nets’ all-time single-season franchise record of 12. AP Photo by Bill Kostroun

NOTHING BUT NET: Harden has the rest of the campaign to match Jason Kidd’s franchise record of 12 triple-doubles in a single season. … Durant is expected to begin practicing alongside his teammates in the next week or so, but there is still no definitive timetable for his return after missing the past 13 games. … Brooklyn had a season-high 15 offensive rebounds in Indiana, resulting in 18 second-half points. … Second-year center Nic Claxton contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in Wednesday’s win. … After visiting Orlando Friday, the Nets will be back in Brooklyn Sunday night to host the Washington Wizards at Downtown’s Barclays Center. … Former Net Caris LeVert, who was traded to Indiana in the blockbuster deal for Harden, scored 19 points against his ex-teammates.