BASKETBALL NBA NETS – 24TH JANUARY 2021 – BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, USA

Nets firepower freezes out Adebayo’s career-high 41 as Brooklyn win 128-124

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Kyrie Irving took over late and had 28 and the Brooklyn Nets overcame Bam Adebayo’s career-high 41 points to beat the Miami Heat 128-124 on Saturday night.

James Harden finished with 12 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Nets won for the first time with their three superstars playing together. They lost consecutive games with dismal defensive efforts in Cleveland and barely got enough stops to hold off a short-handed Heat team that had been limited to 81 points a night earlier.

But Irving helped pull them through, with 12 points in the final 5:48 after the Heat had erased nearly all of an 18-point deficit.

Joe Harris added 23 points and seven 3-pointers for Brooklyn.

Goran Dragic scored 19 points and Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson each had 18 for the Heat, who remain without Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. Adebayo also had nine assists while blowing past his previous best scoring night of 30 points.

Durant was 5 for 5 and scored 13 points in the third quarter, with the last of his three 3-pointers in the period making it 96-80. Adebayo beat the buzzer with a jumper, than Miami opened the fourth with a 13-0 run to get within 96-95.

Irving, Harden and Durant quickly combined for eight straight points but Adebayo kept coming. and the Nets needed a couple of clutch baskets from Irving and late free throws to pull it out.

Harris had four 3-pointers and 12 points in the first quarter. The Nets were ahead 60-42 with a little more than two minutes left in the half, but Miami trimmed it to 66-56 on Adebayo’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Harden didn’t have an official shot attempt in the first quarter. He finally attempted a shot with 0.7 seconds left and was fouled behind the arc, making all three free throws for a 36-25 lead.

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