On December 17, Beijing time, the Nets defeated the 76ers at home to win four consecutive games, Harden's absence, the team played better and better, Sharp, Edwards, Duke and Thomas and others got enough playing time, they did not disappoint the team. Duke was 2 of 7 in the game, contributing 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, his European step layup in the game left a deep impression on the fans, plus or minus +20 higher than Durant, Sharp only shot 2 times in this game, but the overall performance is still very good, contributing 3 points and 5 rebounds.
Thomas was relegated to the bench, 3 of 6, with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists; following the 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists in the last game against the Raptors, Edwards was reused again, although his performance was a big drop from the previous game, but the young man's hard work on the court was impressive. Edwards played 33 minutes off the bench for this game, more time than the three starters (Claxton, Griffin and Duke).
Edwards also did not disappoint, he was 4 of 9, 3 of 3 three-pointers, delivered a comprehensive stat of 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, and only one turnover in the game, plus or minus +1. The game went on to the third quarter of 5 minutes and 20 seconds, Edwards in a defensive grab in the eyes, pain in the heart, when the 76ers made a mistake, this ball looks difficult for Edwards to reach, but Harris hesitated, which also let the former grab the opportunity, only to see him rush from the front court to the backcourt, a total of about 7 meters away to complete the save.
Harris pounced on Edwards, but he apparently slowed down, who immediately passed the ball to his teammates, at which point the Nets called out a timeout, and the narrator lamented that edwards was not unreasonable to regain Nash's trust. After Edwards grabbed the ball, Durant was still in the backcourt, he did not have time to attack and counterattack quickly, but at that time his move was very domineering, showing the true color of the team boss, Durant immediately waved griffin and others to go up and help the little brother up, so he knew that if he wanted to establish prestige among his teammates, he had to do this, and he deserved to be the big brother of the team.
With 3 minutes left in the third quarter, Edwards scrambled to win rebounds for the team, and then his teammates passed back to him, Edwards threw a shot near the box and scored 2 more points, the youngster really fought tonight. After Griffin hit the most important three-pointer of the game, Durant first celebrated with his teammates on the chest, and then the two kept clapping their hands, and Durant also touched Griffin's head, as if to say: "Brother, it's good." Durant has rarely done this before, but in the recent few games in Which Harden has been absent, such moves have increased quite a bit. Durant is now more and more like James, at least his leadership style has gradually shown, and he is no longer just the death god who silently scores.
The Nets were able to win four straight, and Durant was instrumental in his selfless tandem with teammates on the court to keep everyone on offense. According to statistics, in the past 3 games, Durant can average 39.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game, and the true shooting rate has reached 61.5%.