It’s only been a short time since the Brooklyn Nets pulled off the blockbuster trade that landed them superstar guard James Harden, but the duo of Harden and Kevin Durant has already brought excitement and success.
Their hot play continued on Monday when they combined for 64 points to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in a closely contested game that came down to the buzzer.
According to ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Durant and Harden became the first duo to score 30-plus points in each of their first two games with a franchise following Monday’s performance.
Harden collected 34 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists, while Durant poured in 30 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Nets approach of leaning on the chemistry between Durant and Harden, who played with one another with the Oklahoma City Thunder, is paying off.
“We were young in Oklahoma City,” Harden said of the chemistry now versus back in Oklahoma City. “We are grown men now. We know what we want. We really know the game of basketball now. We are not those young guys that want to run around and just shoot and dunk all day. And then for me, I sit back and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball.”
“We’ve been through a lot in this league,” Durant said. “Experienced a lot, and for us to bring it together now and combine what we’ve learned over this time and try to play great basketball, I think it was pretty seamless for us.
“It was an easy transition, especially with James handling the ball a lot coming in. So we’re still trying to find our way, and we’ve still got room to improve, but it’s a solid start.”
Now, the Nets will have to see how Kyrie Irving fits into the fold as he is set to return to practice on Tuesday, for the first time in over two weeks.
