MANILA – James Harden and Jeff Green took over for an injury-riddled Brooklyn side as the team stormed back to beat Phoenix, 128-124, in a National Basketball Association regular season action at the Phoenix Suns Arena in Arizona's capital city on Tuesday night (Wednesday, Philippine Time).
With main men Kevin Durant (hamstring) and Kyrie Irving (back) sitting out due to their respective injuries, Harden and Green starred for the Nets in crunch time, finishing off the game-deciding 13-0 run to steal the victory from the Suns and silence a crowd of nearly 3,200 people.
Down 116-124 with 2:48 to play, Green scored on a three-pointer off a Harden assist to spark Brooklyn's comeback even as Harden converted a layup in the next play.
Green then forced DeAndre Ayton to a jumpball situation in Phoenix's next play with the former winning the tip.
Green then scored another layup to cut the lead down to just one, 124-123, with 59.6 seconds left.
Green continued to work hard and grabbed the rebound off a Mikal Bridges' missed triple, setting up Harden's eventual game-winning trey with 31.4 seconds left that put the Nets up, 126-124.
Devin Booker tried to force overtime, but he missed his potential game-tying turnaround jumper and Harden sealed the win with two free throws.
Harden finished with 38 points on 14-of-22 shooting, seven rebounds, 11 assists, and one steal for Brooklyn, which is now in second place in the Eastern Conference standings at 18-12 with its fourth straight win.
Joe Harris added 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Green put up 18 markers, eight boards, three dimes, and one block off the bench as former Suns star Steve Nash picked up a victory in his first game in Phoenix as the Nets' head coach.
Chris Paul led Phoenix, which saw its six-game winning streak snapped, with 29 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and one steal.
Booker added 22 points, two rebounds, seven assists, and one steal as his team fell to a tie for fourth place in the Western Conference standings with Portland, which won, 115-104, in Oklahoma City, at 17-10.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics romped the Denver Nuggets, 112-99, the New Orleans Pelicans clobbered the Memphis Grizzlies, 144-113, the Toronto Raptors zapped the Milwaukee Bucks, 124-113, and the Los Angeles Lakers downed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 112-104. (PNA)
