Durant, Harris lift Nets past Hornets

NEW YORK — Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 assists, Joe Harris scored 26 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets 130115 on Friday night.

Landry Shamet added 20 points for the Nets.

Kyrie Irving had 12 points, with Blake Griffin and Jeff Green each chipping in 10 for the Nets on the day after LaMarcus Aldridge retired after experiencing an irregular heartbeat in a game Saturday.

Miles Bridges led the Hornets, who were playing without five of their top six scorers, with a career-high 33 points.

Terry Rozier added 27 points and 10 assists, and Vernon Carey Jr. scored a career-high 21 as the Hornets lost their fourth straight.

The Nets connected on 51% of their 3-pointers (21 for 41), with Harris (6 for 9) and Shamet (6 for 11) leading the way.

The Hornets used an early 23-6 run to take a

27-13 lead. Brooklyn cut it to 35-29 after the opening quarter, then began the second with the first six points to tie it. It remained 130 115 tied at 61-all at halftime.

The Nets pushed to a 94-89 after three, then opened the final quarter on a 19-5 run to put away the game.

A four-point play by Harris put the Nets up

98-91 early in the quarter. He then extended the lead to 104-93 with another 3-pointer followed by three free throws on the next possession.

Griffin’s flying dunk and following 3-pointer increased the Nets’ advantage to 16 points and the Hornets never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.

Jalen McDaniels added 12 points and Cody Martin had 10 for Charlotte.

TIP-INS

Nets: James Harden continues to be sidelined with a right hamstring strain. General manager Sean Marks said Harden is progressing well but couldn’t put a timetable on his return, saying Harden needs another day or two of playing 4-on-4 or 5-on-5 in practice and hopefully would be back soon.

IRON MAN

Harris is the only member of the Nets to have played in each of the team’s 56 games this season. He has also started the most (53).