Durant made five three-pointers in his 10th game back following an 18-month layoff after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA finals. He hiked his average to 30.7 points,which would be his highest since he scored a league-leading 32 per game and won NBA MVP honours for Oklahoma City in 2014.
That was a couple of years after he and Harden helped lead the Thunder to the NBA finals and their new pairing could have similar possibilities. The Nets might still reach another level when they get back Irving,who missed his sixth straight game after leaving the team last week for personal reasons.
"I think it's going to be an adjustment for everyone,but it's an incredible problem to have and something I think we'll relish trying to decipher,"coach Steve Nash said.
Nikola Vucevic had 34 points,10 rebounds and seven assists for the short-handed Magic,who lost their fifth straight. They were much more competitive than the others,including a 124-97 loss in Boston on Friday,but didn't have enough answers for Durant or Harden.
"I mean,they're whatever,they're,two of the four,five best offensive players in the world,"coach Steve Clifford said.
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Harden didn't score until making a pair of free throws with 6.8 seconds left in the first quarter and didn't make his first basket until a lay-up with 10:07 remaining in the half. But his playmaking was on track from the start,pushing up the floor to find teammates rather than often dribbling down the shot clock in Houston.
He got his shot going during an 11-point third quarter,capping it with a deep three-pointer just before the buzzer to give Brooklyn an 84-83 lead.
AP