James Harden is very happy to be out of Houston, and his Brooklyn Nets debut showed it. Heck, his body showed it.
James Harden really finessed all of us. pic.twitter.com/IEIlUOHtdl
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 16, 2021
The bearded lefty scored 32 points, dished out 14 assists, pulled down 12 rebounds, and had four steals in the Nets’ 122-115 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Now, it has to be said that Harden also had nine turnovers, but that’s surely part of getting used to playing with a new team. And while nine turnovers is an alarming amount, it doesn’t look quite as bad when you accompany it with 14 assists.
Harden becomes the first player in NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double in their debut with a new team.
James Harden (32 PTS, 12 REB, 14 AST) of the @BrooklynNets is the first player in NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double in his debut with a new team. pic.twitter.com/TexbvJwunz
— NBA (@NBA) January 17, 2021
Playing alongside Kevin Durant certainly helps, especially in the assists department. Durant had a game-high 42 points on 16-of-26 shooting from the field.
After the game, Harden said, “When you play with really, really good players, it’s pretty easy.”
"When you play with really really good players, it's pretty easy."
—James Harden on his first game with KD and the Nets pic.twitter.com/hU8Z7CO3sC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 17, 2021
Perhaps that’s also a shot at his previous team; he referred to the Rockets as “just not good enough” on Tuesday night, before getting traded the next day.
The Nets are all-in to win a championship this season, and they have to feel pretty great about how Harden looked in his debut with the team. The next step is getting Kyrie Irving back on the court, and finding out if Harden, Durant, and Irving can indeed former a lethal Big Three together.
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