James Harden finished with 23 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 109-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James collecting 32 points in the defeat.
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James Harden Leads Nets Over Lakers
To go with his total points, Harden also dished out 11 assists with five rebounds on 7-of-15 shooting from the field.
Joe Harris added 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six 3-pointers and five rebounds, while Kyrie Irving finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Nets, who again played without Kevin Durant, who missed his third straight game with a left hamstring strain.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot ended with 15 points, DeAndre Jordan pulled down eight rebounds for Brooklyn (19-12), who won five straight and improved to 4-0 on its five-game West Coast road trip.
“I don’t think we’re getting too carried away,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “We played a solid game and got a good win on the road, but it’s early and we’ve got a lot of growing to do.
“We have to take the opportunity to get better regardless of the results, but it also feels sweet when you go out West and win some games.”
- LeBron James, Lakers Come Up Short
Meanwhile, James’ game-high 32 points performance also included eight rebounds and seven assist, while he shot 14-of-23 from the floor for Los Angeles.
Kyle Kuzma added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Montrezl Harrell ended with 10 points for the Lakers (22-8), who lost for only the second time in 10 games.
The Lakers were without forward Anthony Davis, who missed his second straight game after aggravating his strained right calf last weekend.
Starting point guard Dennis Schroder also sat out the game for Los Angeles after he was a late scratch under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
“Missing AD and then our starting point guard in Dennis, it’s a big blow for us,” James said.
“But they’re missing key players as well. Neither team was full strength. We just didn’t play up to our capabilities tonight. Give them credit.”
Irving was looking forward to playing a full-strengthened Lakers team.
“We’ll see them down the road again with a whole entire healthy Lakers team,” Irving said. “That’s what we wanted, and we expect that.”
