Luka's efforts not enough to overcome Nets rally for fifth straight home loss / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Credit Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Brooklyn Nets (17-7) erased a 17-point deficit and earned a 102-99 (21-27, 29-35, 25-24, 27-13) victory over the slumping Dallas Mavericks (11-12) on Tuesday night.

Player of the Game EFF 31 James Harden Points 23 Accuracy 7-13 Rebounds 9 Assists 12

James Harden added 23 points, 12 assists, and nine rebounds. He shot 7 of 13 and hit two free throws that gave Brooklyn its first lead, 91-90, with 6:41 remaining.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 15 points, James Johnson contributed 12 and Patty Mills chipped in 10 as Brooklyn shot 50.6 percent and won for the 15th time in 19 games.

Luka Doncic led all scorers with 28 points and added nine assists after sitting out Saturday with a sprained left ankle, but Dallas dropped its fifth straight home game and lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Kristaps Porzingis added 17 points and 12 rebounds as Dallas shot 40 percent and missed 37 of 46 3-point tries.

Durant made 5 of 6 shots during the fourth quarter when Brooklyn outscored Dallas 27-13. His biggest shot was a 14-foot fadeaway from the left wing over Dorian Finney-Smith that gave the Nets a 102-99 lead with 61 seconds remaining.

After Brooklyn got a foul call on Harden overturned with 46.5 seconds left, Dallas won a jump ball, but Tim Hardaway Jr. missed a floater in the lane with 41.6 ticks left.

The Mavericks gained another chance for the tie when Nic Claxton missed two free throws with 20.7 seconds left, but Doncic missed a 3-pointer with 15.7 seconds left and Hardaway missed a wide-open 3-pointer after doing a pump fake on Durant with 0.7 seconds remaining.

The Mavericks built a 62-50 lead by halftime as Doncic banked in a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Dallas upped its lead to 71-54 on a 3-pointer by Porzingis with 7 1/2 minutes left, and the Nets chipped away and were down 86-75 entering the fourth.

The Nets continued to chip away and opened the fourth on a 10-2 run. They got within 88-85 on a 3-pointer by Mills with 9:33 left.

Doncic missed five straight shots until his 3-pointer gave Dallas a 94-93 lead with 5:36 remaining.

The Mavericks held a 97-95 lead on Doncic's floater with 3:51 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Mills put Brooklyn up 98-97 with 2:48 left, and Harden followed with a layup to make it 100-97 with 1:23 left.

Mavericks: Luka Doncic 28 (6/10 2PT, 3/11 3PT, 7/8 FT, 6 REB, 9 AST), Kristaps Porzingis 17 (5/12 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 12 REB, 5 AST), Dorian Finney-Smith 15 (4/9 3PT, 6 REB, 3 STL), Tim Hardaway 11 (5/7 2PT, 0/7 3PT), Dwight Powell 10 (6 REB), Jalen Brunson 10.Nets: Kevin Durant 24 (9/18 2PT, 7 REB), James Harden 23 (4/7 2PT, 3/6 3PT, 6/7 FT, 9 REB, 12 AST, 5 TO), LaMarcus Aldridge 15 (7/11 2PT, 5 REB), James Johnson 12 (2/3 3PT, 4 AST), Patrick Mills 10 (2/8 3PT).

Full game highlights:

Luka Doncic highlights:

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