On January 13, Beijing time, the Nets defeated the Bulls 138-112 to avoid losing streaks. In this game, the Nets defeated the Bulls in a wave of streams in the third quarter, and the third quarter 39-19 directly made DeRozan furious, and the two teams in the first half were still in the third quarter but the Bulls were demoralized in the third quarter, and the final quarter entered the garbage time early. The Bulls' last big win of 46 points set a 26-point loss for the NBA this season, and 26 points is also the Bulls' highest net loss in a single game this season.
James Harden joked after the game: "I want to vaccinate Kyrie Irving so he can play at home." This passage is enough to prove how strong the combined strength of the Big Three is, before the Nets faced the top four teams in the East and West parts of the country is 8-0 wins, the Nets also confirmed the title of the league's first pseudo-strong team, and the Big Three finally defeated the Bulls after the combination, before the Nets vs Bulls was 0 wins and 2 losses.
Although Irving scored only 9 points on 4-of-10 shooting, his defensive containment made Durant and Harden play easily, Durant 30 minutes, 7 of 10, 4 of 3 three-pointers, 10 of 11 free throws, 27 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, shooting 70% from the field, 75% from three-point range, and 17 points in the third quarter.
Harden scored 25 points, 16 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 46.2%, 6.2%, 62.5% three-point shooting, and 8 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds in the third quarter.
The Nets' record was 13 wins and 3 losses when they were on the court, and the winning percentage was as high as 81.3%, which is the power of the Nets' big three, but unfortunately Irving still can't play in the home game (the Knicks and Raptors can't play), otherwise the Nets' record is likely to soon improve to return to the first place in the East.
Harden's recovery is also crucial, since beating the Lakers on December 26, Harden has behaved like a superstar, averaging 27.3 points, 108 assists and 8.4 rebounds in 9 games, shooting 45.1%. There was also a wave of 4 consecutive 30+ games, and Harden's awakening on the offensive end was important for Durant.
The Nets face the top four teams in the division with 8-1 wins, and the Big Three have finally won their first win, and they should slowly take off the title of pseudo-strong team.
Text/Yan Xiaobai