Nets rally to beat Mavericks, averting 1st skid of season
James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets were in danger of back-to-back losses for the first time this season, trailing Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks by 17 points in the third quarter after blowing a double-digit lead against Chicago.
The Eastern Conference leaders responded during Harden’s “go” time this time.
Kevin Durant scored 24 points, Harden had 23 points and 12 assists, and the Nets beat Dallas 102-99 on Tuesday night, handing the Mavericks their fifth consecutive home loss.
“We’ve been in this league long enough to know it’s winning time. It’s go time,” said Harden, who also had nine rebounds. “Throughout the course of the game, I feel like we got good shots. We just missed them. We just kept sticking with it and kept sticking with it. You’ve got to just keep shooting, especially if that’s what you do.”
The Mavericks keep shooting — and missing.
Luka Doncic scored 28 points but had another rough night from 3-point range along with his teammates, except for the guard’s 30-foot banked shot just before the first-half buzzer. Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Lakers 117, Celtcis 102: LeBron James scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook added 24 points and 11 assists, and host Los Angeles beat Boston.
Anthony Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who got their fourth victory in six games overall. With James and Westbrook playing dominant floor games, Los Angeles made 56.5% of its shots in the first three quarters and throttled Jayson Tatum’s supporting cast defensively.
Tatum scored 14 of his 34 points in a first-quarter blitz for the Celtics, who dropped to 1-2 on their four-game West Coast road trip.
Knicks 121, Spurs 109: RJ Barrett made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points, and visiting New York snapped a three-game skid by beating San Antonio.
Alec Burks scored 18 points, Immanuel Quickley added 16 points and Julius Randle had 15 for the Knicks.
Derrick White had 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Spurs, who have dropped two straight after a season-long three-game winning streak.