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Nets 116, Knicks 109: Kevin Durant Leads Brooklyn With 26 Points

The first back-to-back of Kevin Durant’s return to the NBA was no problem, and neither was anything else when the Brooklyn Nets crossed the river on Wednesday night.

Led by Durant’s 26 points, the Nets broke out to a 16-point lead at halftime and had seven players score in double figures in a 116-109 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

After Durant missed all of last season with an Achilles’ injury, he was rested for the second half of Brooklyn’s first back-to-back at the end of December, a week into the season. This time, he was in, and in a 30-minute night shot 10-for-18 and 3-for-5 from 3-point range and handed out six assists as the Nets cruised. He’s now scored at least 25 points in his last eight games, matching a franchise record.

“I think it’s another marker for him that builds his confidence and continues to build that adaptation process to the demands of the game,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash. “This season is unique as we continue to say. I can’t stress it enough, five games in seven nights and basically playing four games a week. It is something you have to be very careful with and manage for everybody, let alone Kevin, who is coming off a career-threatening injury. So, it’s an incredible position he’s put himself in and he looks terrific, but it’s a long way to go and we’ve got to be smart and try to figure out where he needs his breaks.”

Over Brooklyn’s two previous games, Durant had played 38 minutes on Sunday against Oklahoma City and 36 on Tuesday against Denver.

“I want to see how my body felt this morning, how I felt after the game last night,” said Durant. “And I was just trying to monitor everything leading up into the game, obviously, throughout the game, and I felt good. So hopefully, I know I keep building on it and as the season goes along, I continue to keep getting stronger and more used to the game again, the schedule, the travel, everything. So this was a good step.”

Brooklyn got what it wanted throughout on the offensive end. The Nets shot 50 percent overall and 45.2 percent from 3-point range over the first three quarters as they took a 16-point lead into the fourth before the lead and Brooklyn’s shooting numbers dipped in the final minutes.

Bruce Brown and Joe Harris each scored 15 points, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Landry Shamet both scored 13, and Jeff Green and Reggie Perry had 11. DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds and nine points, and Chris Chiozza had seven assists as the Nets had 29 assists and just six turnovers.

“It was a good win,” said Durant. “Especially we talked about it last night, we want to finish the second half for the back-to-back, especially with a team that's right across the bridge from us. And we know what that rivalry is like, and we know how to add intensity to this team plays with an at home. So we want to we really wanted this game tonight, and everybody played like it. And you know, from top to bottom, you know, it was great.”

Brown put up a double-double with 14 rebounds in his second straight start, following up a big game against Denver on Tuesday.

“He plays extremely hard, prides himself on his defense,” said Nash. “Offensively, he plays within himself. He has been really impressive with his finishing and his floaters, making the defense pay for his cutting. I think, when you have a guy like that, who can guard multiple positions, he plays hard, he knows the game plan, and he also knows where he shouldn’t put himself offensively and that’s really valuable. It’s great to have him for his energy, toughness, defense and tonight, obviously – and not just tonight – he’s been rebounding the ball. Tonight he was exceptional, 14 rebounds. So, really proud of the way he’s chipped away and super valuable to us tonight.”

The Nets closed the second quarter in a rush to go up 61-45 at halftime following a 35-point second quarter.

A 16-3 run had the Knicks up 20-13 in the first quarter before the Nets took a 26-25 lead into the second quarter. From there, they built a 13-2 run that began with the final four points of the first quarter, with Perry and Brown combining for the first nine points of the second quarter for a 35-27 lead.

After the Knicks had closed within 46-43, the Nets went on a 15-2 run to finish out the first half, starting with Durant lobbing to Jordan for a dunk and a three-point play, then draining a 3-pointer. Harris hit a long two and then a 3-pointer, Jordan slammed home a follow dunk, and Chiozza came up with a steal and an over-the-shoulder tip pass to set up Durant in the open court for a dunk and a 16-point lead at the break.

Brooklyn stretched its lead to 19 points midway through the third quarter, going up 80-61 after consecutive 3-pointers from Durant and Shamet. Durant scored 12 points in the quarter, the Nets shot 57.1 percent and 50 percent from 3-point range, and took a 92-76 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Interesting day today, and a back-to-back like you said, and the fifth in seven nights,” said Nash. “They came out and were professional, did a great job defensively, moved the ball offensively, made simple plays, didn’t turn it over, battled on the boards. Overall, I was really proud of the way they played on what was a long week.”