On November 11, the Nets beat the Magic 123-90, and Durant shot 11-of-12 and had 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, which was a 3-star miracle. However, Aldridge, who was on the bench, stole the scene, and he played an efficient performance, with 21 points and 8 rebounds. After the game, coaches Nash and Harden both praised Ade vigorously.
The Nets have a firm grip on the Magic, crushing opponents in all four quarters. Durant played very easily, it was simply a matter of giving and giving.
He shot 11-of-12, 2-of-2 from three-point range, 6-of-7 from the free throw line, plus-minus +9. Durant became the first player in the Nets' past 40 seasons to cut 30+ in a single game with a 90 percent shooting percentage. Durant still scored a career 92% shooting rate while slashing 30+. In addition, Durant is ranked first in the league in 29.5 points per game this season and shoots 58.5 percent from the field.
Durant became two of the biggest contenders for this season's leading scorer and MVP. Harden played a triple-double in this game, with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. According to statistics, this is the 15th time in Harden's career to achieve a career in the third quarter, and in the past 25 years, it is second only to Westbrook, and it is tied for second with Jokic.
Veteran Aldridge stole the limelight from Durant and Harden by playing 22 minutes off the bench and finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting. It was the third time he had scored at least 20 points as a bench this season, which had equalled the number of games in which a Nets bench player had scored at least 20 points last season.
Speaking about Aldridge, the Nets Nash raved: "He's the cornerstone of our team's second team, he's helped us win a couple of games, and it's all there for all to see. ”
Harden said: "Real pros, you need players like him, he plays really well, he does everything for us on both ends of the board and we're very happy to bring him back. ”
With Irving's return still in suspense, Aldridge's continued steady performance on the bench was a big surprise for the Nets, greatly reducing the scoring pressure on Durant and Harden.