Two members of the Brooklyn Nets' new “Big Three” — James Harden and Kevin Durant — made their debut together on Saturday night.
So far, so good.
Both Harden and Durant — who starred together with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2009-12 — put up video game numbers against the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center.
A suddenly-slim Harden became the first player in franchise history to record a 30-point triple-double (32 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists), while Durant had a season-high 42 points on 16-for-26 shooting. Brooklyn held off Orlando, 122-115, to move to 8-6 on the season.
Harden to Durant, a line Nets fans should be hearing quite a bit this season 💦pic.twitter.com/9HZrK4gbcZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 16, 2021
Considering the co-dominance of the two superstars, the thought of Kyrie Irving joining KD and Harden could strike fear in the rest of the league. Harden sees “scary hours” ahead when Irving returns to the lineup.
“I'm so excited for Ky [Irving] to get back,” Harden said after the game, via Alex Kennedy of Basketball News. “He's a key piece to what we're trying to do. As soon as we can get on the court together, it's going to be scary hours.”
Irving has been away from the Nets for a little over a week. In addition to the $816,898 he's foregone in game checks, the All-Star point guard was fined $50,000 for violating the NBA's health and safety protocols after video surfaced showing him at an indoor family birthday party.
Irving has played seven games for Brooklyn this season, averaging 27.1 points per game. He was officially ruled out for Saturday's contest due to health and safety protocols, opposed to “personal reasons”, which had been the listed reason for the previous five games.
The Nets will next take the floor on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in a primetime showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks in Brooklyn.
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