James Harden scored a triple-double of 30 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets won 124-113 at San Antonio Spurs in overtime to record their first NBA win there in 18 years.
Brooklyn extended their impressive away form to six-straight wins on the road as they won at San Antonio for the first time since the 2003 NBA Finals.
The victory was the Nets’ ninth in 10 games, who are now 23-13 for the season and sit second in the Eastern Conference.
The game looked wrapped up in the regulation period as the Nets were leading by 108-98 with only two minutes remaining.
However, the Spurs scored the final 10 points of regulation to force overtime. They did so when Dejounte Murray recovered possession, after losing it, before rising to score a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer.
Brooklyn stepped up in overtime though and went on to win 124-113 led by the brilliance of Harden and Kyrie Ivring while team-mate and 2014 MVP Kevin Durant was absent.
In the extended period, Irving, Harden, and Bruce Brown pushed the Nets ahead by eight, while the tired Spurs could not convert on a handful of decent looks. A Jakob Poeltl dunk and Murray three shaved the deficit, but the Nets’ star power ultimately made the difference.
Harden’s seventh triple-double as a Brooklyn Net
Harden’s 30 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds was his seventh triple-double in 22 games with the Brooklyn Nets since being traded by the Houston Rockets.
Harden also shot 13 for 22 and scored 20 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Speaking post-match, Harden said: ‘Honestly, I just try to find ways to impact the game and not just scoring the basketball. We have a number of guys that can put the ball in the basket. I try to just be a distributor of getting guys shots and getting guys easy buckets.
‘I feel like it’s my job. Just playing the game right way, not forcing anything, trying to make the right play, trying to get guys shots. That’s kind of my mindset every single game and it’s been working.’
Irving had an impressive performance scoring 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Brown scored 23 points on 10 of 13 shooting. DeAndre Jordan also had 12 rebounds, eight points, five assists, and three blocks.
The Spurs were suffering from absentees and reduced rotational players leaving a rookie defence in the starting line-up. However, it never posed an issue until the overtime period.
San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, Murray scored 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds which led a balanced scoresheet with an All-Star worthy effort.
Despite the close loss, the Spurs temporarily stayed percentage points ahead of Portland in fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
By Kyle Pogue-Elms
