Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving return with scoring punch to lift Nets over Hawks

The return of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving from a load management vacation paid big dividends in the fourth quarter Wednesday night at Barclays Center as the two combined for 33 points to pull out a 145-141 victory over the Hawks, who will get a rematch Friday night.

The Nets took a one-point lead to begin the fourth quarter on a three-pointer by Durant, but the Hawks refused to go away. Joe Harris hit his sixth three-pointer of the game at 6:27 for a 123-120 lead, and Irving scored seven straight Nets points to push their lead to 132-128 at 4:07

An Irving three made it a five-point lead at 137-132 with 2:00 go, but two John Collins foul shots narrowed the margin to one before an Irving mid-range jumper at 32.2 seconds gave the Nets a 139-136 cushion. Center Jarrett Allen forced a John Collins miss at the rim, and a Durant dunk with 15.6 seconds left sealed the win.

Durant led seven Nets (3-2) in double figures with 33 points (16 in the fourth quarter) and added 11 rebounds and eight assists, Irving totaled 25 points (17 in the fourth quarter), Harris had 23, and Allen finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Young and Collins each scored 30 for the Hawks (3-1).

After resting Durant and Irving in their previous loss to the Grizzlies on Monday, the Nets restored their top two stars to the starting lineup in time to face a young Hawks team that came in with a 3-0 record behind the leadership of NBA scoring leader Young, who came in with a 34.0 average. In the absence of injured starter Spencer Dinwiddie, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot started his second straight game, and coach Steve Nash returned Caris LeVert to his sixth-man role.

For the first time in the four games they have played this season, Nash staggered the minutes of Durant and Irving instead of keeping them on the floor together the majority of the time. But they were together in crunch time when it mattered the most.

“Kyrie was having an off night until the fourth quarter when he got his rhythm,” Nash said. “We put him in situations where he could thrive in the open floor. Kevin was solid all-around. He almost had a triple-double . . . I just told [Irving] to stick with it. We know what he’s capable of. He dug down and found his rhythm.”

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The Nets’ defense in the opening period was atrocious. The Hawks shot 69.6% from the field (16 of 23) on their way to a 41-38 lead. It marked the third 40-point quarter of the season for the Hawks. No other team in the NBA has more than one. The defense got only marginally better the rest of the way, but the Nets had enough firepower to keep pace.

“We came in No. 1 defensively,” Nash said with a smile. “That went out the window. They have a ton of shooters playing with confidence. It was a new challenge. We have to get better at that end of the floor.”

The Hawks held a 68-67 halftime lead partly because Irving had a mere four points on miserable 1-for-11 shooting in the opening half. Late in the third period, the Hawks made three straight threes, including two by Solomon Hill, to take a 103-95 lead. But the Nets responded with a 10-4 run to take a 105-104 lead when Durant hit a three to open the fourth quarter as he and Irving took over.

“Their names speak for themselves,” Allen said of the dominance of the two superstars. “When it gets to crunch time, we know where the ball needs to go, and they proved why.”

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.