CLEVELAND — When the Brooklyn Nets first acquired Joe Harris, coach Kenny Atkinson likened his potential impact to that of Kyle Korver, the sharpshooter from Atkinson's Atlanta days who has shot at least 40 percent from 3-point range every season since 2009-10, including 53.6 percent that year.
Over two years with the Nets, Harris has been steadily ascending in that direction, and last night against Korver's current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harris continued his hot early-season shooting with a 4-for-5 night from beyond the arc on the way to 16 points in Brooklyn's 102-86 win.
That made Harris 12-15 over the Nets' last three games. And Harris had timing. His second and third threes of a perfect 3-for-3 first half each halted Cleveland runs.
The Nets took control in the third quarter, running to a 21-point lead going into the fourth after being knotted with the Cavs at halftime. With the game tied at 47 in the first minute of the second half, Harris made his fourth straight 3-pointer. After Rodney Hood answered with a jumper for Cleveland, the Nets took off on an 18-1 run. Jared Dudley made three 3-pointers in less than four minutes in the burst, while D'Angelo Russell added another 3-pointer and two highlight-reel assists.
The second dime from Russell was a one-handed crosscourt laser to Dudley in the right corner for the 3-pointer that capped the 18-1 run. After Larry Nance Jr. made Cleveland's first shot in over five minutes, Caris LeVert converted twice in the lane for a 72-52 lead, Brooklyn's largest of the game to that point. Shabazz Napier's 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter put Brooklyn up 82-62 going into the fourth.
Russell led the Nets with 18 points and a season-high eight assists, Dudley had 12 on 4-of-5 3-point shooting and Jarrett Allen had 10 points and eight rebounds. Ed Davis had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-figure rebounding game in four games as a Net. The Nets shot 14-34 (41.2 percent) from 3-point range, their third straight game shooting at least 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made his season debut with 21 minutes off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds. Napier, in his Nets debut after missing all of the preseason and the first three regular season games like Hollis-Jefferson, had eight points in 15 minutes.
Spencer Dinwiddie's 3-pointer put the Nets up 24-17 after one quarter with the Nets limiting the Cavs to 6-of-26 shooting early, including 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Threes from Harris and Napier had Brooklyn up 30-23 three minutes into the second quarter.
But the offensive rebounding that has been a strength for the Cavaliers so far in this short season kept them hanging around as both teams struggled with their shooting. By halftime, Cleveland had 37 boards, outrebounding the Nets by 12 in the first half. That included 12 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points. And 8-0 run followed Brooklyn's back-to-back threes as Cleveland took a 31-30 lead
Harris answered from 3-point range -- his third make in three tries in the game's first 19 minutes -- the first of seven lead changes over the final six minutes of the first half as the Nets and Cavs went into the break tied at 45. Russell had 15 points at halftime for Brooklyn, making all six of his first-half free throw attempts.
HOMECOMING NIGHTS
Wednesday night's visit to Cleveland brought several Nets back to the state of Ohio. Joe Harris began his career with the Cavaliers after being drafted in the second round in 2014. He played 56 games in Cleveland over two seasons. D'Angelo Russell played his college ball at Ohio State, while Caris LeVert grew up right outside Columbus in Pickerington, about two-and-a-half hours away.
NETS NOTES
Rodions Kurucs, DeMarre Carroll, Treveon Graham and Alan Williams were all inactive. There's no timetable for the return of Carroll (ankle surgery) or Graham (hamstring strain). Atkinson said the rookie Kurucs, who injured his ankle in Indiana last Saturday, would also be out Friday night in New Orleans.
After the Nets visit the Pelicans, they return home to host the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Sunday.