On January 18, Beijing time, the Nets lost to the Cavaliers away, Durant was suspended due to injury, Harden and Irving led the team to play; Harden wore a headband, played in the whole game for 40 minutes, 12 shots, 5 of 22 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, the thigh was dangerously injured, and the fatal mistake at the key moment buried the game; Irving contributed 27 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, and the Nets double giant cut 49 points, 19 assists and 14 rebounds and still regretted defeat.
In the first quarter, Edwards scored 5 consecutive points at the beginning, Irving delivered firepower, Mills hit three points in a row, the Cavaliers responded strongly, Harden scored three points, Irving also hit three points, the Cavaliers continued to fight back, the Nets led 1 point 31-30 in the first quarter; Harden got 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists on 1-of-5 shooting in the single quarter, the offensive feel was not good, and the outside foul actually made 3 free throws and 1.
In the second quarter, Harden made two fouls and one shot, broke through the layup, stood on the free throw line many times, and hit three points on the outside line, but the Cavaliers' offensive firepower was more fierce, and the Nets fell behind by 6 points after halftime; Harden contributed 8 points in the second quarter, and Irving contributed 2 points.
In the second half, the Nets continued to attack the Cavaliers, Irving suddenly powered, inside and outside the shot to score 5 points in a row, Harden delivered firepower, Thomas scored consecutive points, gradually turned the situation around in the confrontation war, Harden and Griffin's cooperation is wonderful, in the last minute of the quarter, Irving scored 7 consecutive points to help the Nets surpass the score, Irving 14 points in a single quarter.
In the third quarter, Harden's thigh was hit, and he covered his thigh and limped to the sidelines, a worrying scene, but fortunately the injury was not hindered, and he continued to stay on the court.
In the final quarter, the Nets and cavaliers still played glue, Harden knocked down Garland to eat offensive fouls, Garland scored three consecutive goals, Harden outside the line to make Allen foul, seize the opportunity to make three free throws, and then Harden assisted Sharp to easily score, Harden outside the line to make Markkanen foul, and it was all three free throws, Markkanen responded with three points.
In the last 3 minutes of life and death, Irving hooked the iron, Ade lost two consecutive shots, Irving and Edwards continued to hit the iron and missed; Irving finally scored, Harden fatally passed the ball error, the Cavaliers counterattacked the dunk, Irving continued to kill the three-point miss, and finally the Nets lost 107-114 to the Cavaliers.