Harden, Durant shine as Johnson seals the victory
Kevin Durant and James Harden took turns putting on a show in front of the largest crowd ever to see a Nets game in Brooklyn, one that was split between fans of New York’s two teams.
In the end, the Nets were celebrating and the Knicks were fuming.
In its 10th season, the matchup between teams just a few miles apart looked like a real rivalry.
“Being here two years now, it doesn’t matter who’s on that team or who’s on this team, I think the energy’s always going to be there,” Harden said. “Whether it’s here or at MSG, the fans are going to be cheering for their respective teams and it’s going to be a good game every time, and tonight we’re just happy to come out with the win.”
They got it after James Johnson made two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to give the Nets a 112-110 victory Tuesday night.
Grizzlies 98, Raptors 91:
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 points, Desmond Bane had 23 and Dillon Brooks 17 as visiting Memphis won back-to-back games, beating Toronto.
Memphis won again without leading scorer Ja Morant, who sat for the second game because of a sprained left knee. Morant is expected to miss at least two weeks.
Lakers 117, Kings 92: Anthony Davis scored 25 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and visiting Los Angeles overcame the absence of LeBron James to beat Sacramento.
The Lakers sent James home earlier in the day after he was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol.
But they got more than enough from their other two big stars and took over with a dominant third quarter to win back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 8-10.
Blazers 110, Pistons 92: CJ McCollum scored 28 points and host Portland handed Detroit their seventh straight loss.
Ben McLemore had 17 points off the bench for Portland. With Damian Lillard looking on from the bench in street clothes, Portland snapped a three-game losing streak.