Kevin Durant discussed the tough loss James Harden and his Rockets endured at LeBron James’ hands. He also touched on the Warriors-Rockets matchup, as well as their playoff series.
Kevin Durant is a professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He reacted to James Harden’s 39-point performance against the Warriors in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
Because so much has been made this season of James Harden’s poor start, his 39 points, five rebounds, and 12 assists, along with 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc and 11-of-15 shooting from the line, must have made the Brooklyn Nets’ victory against the New Orleans Pelicans particularly delicious.
James Harden is now using gas in his cooking pic.twitter.com/c4Vs8KlPtu
— November 13, 2021, Jackson Frank (@jackfrank jjf)
Harden’s rehabilitation from a major hamstring injury from last season is one of the key reasons for his delayed start. That first appeared in March of last year, but he worsened it during the playoffs, forcing him to spend the whole offseason dealing with it. With that in mind, head coach Steve Nash made it clear that he would need some time to get back on track.
Then we found out that the NBA has made some significant rule adjustments, including tightening down on non-basketball actions. As a result, Harden’s adjustment to the new league has been a work in progress. However, it seemed like The Beard had some extra sizzle in the first quarter against the Pelicans.
And that explosion resulted in gallons of water.
Tonight, James Harden:
37 out of 100 (season-high)
a total of 12 assists (ties a season-high)
Six threes were constructed (season-high)
November 13, 2021 — Alec Sturm (@Alec Sturm)
Kevin Durant, James Harden’s running mate and MVP contender, was equally electrifying. KD ended with 28 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds while hitting all three triples he attempted.
Harden was asked what teams should do when both he and KD are on fire after the game.
“Do you want to pray?” “I’m just playin’,” laughed the league MVP for 2018. “It’s tough, dude, because we’re two selfless basketball guys.” We’re adaptable. Kevin is well-known for his scoring, especially his efficient scoring, but he’s also a willing passer. Especially when there are double teams and similar situations. It’s tough to keep an eye on him, and it’s much more difficult to keep an eye on me, particularly now that we’ve gotten going.
“We’re just so selfless that we want to get our teammates involved, and obviously we can score the ball as well, so we just have to figure out how to keep the ball moving and make sure that everyone on the court is engaged.”
The Nets hit 52.9 percent of their 3-point attempts. Joe Harris started out “blazing hot,” sinking his first five triples and going 6-of-8 from long range overall.
With under three minutes to go, it was still a two-point game, which was not where the Nets intended to be. They recently spoke about how crucial it is to finish quarters and halves and put opponents away when they have a lead. In the previous game in Orlando, their bench put the game away. However, playing without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans (now 1-12) showed a lot of spirit and pushed the Nets’ finest talents to shine.
When James Harden and Kevin Durant get it going for the #Nets, opponents are asked what they should do. “Is it possible to pray? I’m just having fun….” pic.twitter.com/2ED8wM2CVp
November 13, 2021 — DaveEarly (@DavidEarly)
KD was asked the same question after the game. When both he and Harden are on fire, how are defenses expected to handle it?
The two-time NBA Finals MVP remarked, “He was active all night.” “Going downhill and going to the free throw line, 11 for 18, really efficient.” There are 12 assists in all. He was really stunning…. But James did a fantastic job for us tonight in terms of game management.”
The Nets are presently 9-4 and in third place in the Eastern Conference. They’ll speak about how this victory should have been easier and how they’re still a work in progress, which is all true. But the most crucial aspect of the game was that Harden seemed to be quick. He seemed to be lot more at ease while sprinting to the hoop. And it may be “frightening times” if he can play this well on a semi-consistent basis without any setbacks.
For the time being, defenders can only hope that Brooklyn does not often have both KD and James cooking at the same moment.
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