Nets 117, Knicks 112: Kyrie Irving Scores 34, James Harden Notches Another Triple-Double

Harden with 21 points, 15 assists, 15 rebounds and Nets shoot 57.9 percent in win over Knicks

Kyrie Irving led the Brooklyn Nets with 34 points and James Harden posted another triple-double as the Nets held off the New York Knicks 117-112 at Barclays Center on Monday night.

After the Knicks had cut Brooklyn’s 18-point lead to four with 4:30 to go in the game, Irving made 1-of-2 free throws, Harden finished a runner, and after Julius Randle scored for the Knicks, Irving scored in the lane to make it 112-105. Randle hit a 3-pointer, and Irving’s free throw made it 113-108 Brooklyn. Harden’s two free throws put the Nets up 115-108 with 28.6 seconds left.

After the Knicks cut that lead to 115-112, they successfully challenged a foul call and won the ensuing jump ball at halfcourt, taking possession and calling timeout with 5.7 seconds remaining. Irving forced Randle into a travel and the Nets regained possession with 3.7 seconds left. Harden’s two free throws with 0.6 seconds remaining sealed the game.

It was the 10th triple-double in 26 games as a Net for Harden, who finished with 21 points, 15 assists, and 15 rebounds. Irving had another high-percentage scoring night, making 13-of-18 shots, including 4-of-6 3-pointers.

Jeff Green had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, making both of his 3-point attempts, and Joe Harris added 13 points. DeAndre Jordan had eight points and nine rebounds.

The Nets shot 57.9 percent (44-of-76) against a team that came in leading the league in opponent field goal percentage allowed. It was the 13th win in 14 games for Brooklyn, now 27-13 on the season.

The Nets led 67-55 at halftime, shooting 62.5 percent over the first 24 minutes.

Trailing 18-11 early on, Brooklyn ran off eight straight points to move into the lead, and an 11-2 run at the end of the quarter — seven points from Green, who had 14 in the quarter — put them up 35-30 going into the second quarter.

Harden then authored a 10-0 run to start the second quarter — assists to Nic Claxton and Bruce Brown, plus three free throws — as the Nets went up 45-30. After Reggie Bullock scored for New York, Brown finished a drive and Harden got a transition layup for 49-32 lead, making it a 25-6 run for the Nets going back to the first quarter. At the point, the Nets had made five of their first six shots of the quarter and were shooting 73.0 percent for the game.

The Nets had their biggest lead of the first half at 67-49 before going into the break up by 12. Harden had a double-double nearly in the bag at that point, with 11 points and nine assists in the first half, while Green had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Irving had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

A quick 7-3 burst to open the third quarter — Irving’s finish, Green’s 3-pointer, a Harris cut and finish — pushed the Brooklyn lead back up to 74-58. The Nets made 12-of-21 shots in the third quarter — including 5-of-8 3-pointers and matched their largest lead of the game to that point when a Landry Shamet 3-pointer put them up 94-76 before they took a 96-84 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Knicks scored seven of the first nine points of the fourth quarter, giving them an 11-2 run going back to the final minute of the third quarter, closing within 98-91 with 9:11 remaining. With the Nets back up 104-94, a 9-2 New York run made it a 107-103 game with 4:30 to go.