Durant pours in 31, Harden nears triple-double and leads Nets over Raptors for fifth straight win / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports Credit Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and the visiting Brooklyn Nets (7-3) defeated the Toronto Raptors (6-5) 116-103 (29-26, 24-34, 35-17, 28-26) Sunday afternoon.

Player of the Game EFF 29 James Harden Points 28 Accuracy 10-20 Rebounds 10 Assists 8

It was Durant's 10th straight game with 20 or more points as the Nets won their fifth in a row, including the first two of a six-game road trip.

James Harden added 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Nets. Blake Griffin had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Patty Mills scored 13 points off the bench while Bruce Brown contributed 12 points.

Fred VanVleet had 21 points and eight assists for the Raptors, who have lost two in a row. OG Anunoby added 16 points, Pascal Siakam had 15, Gary Trent Jr. had 14 and Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points.

Siakam, playing his first game of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery, played 25 minutes.

Brooklyn outscored Toronto 35-17 in the third quarter to take an 11-point lead into the fourth. The Raptors cut the margin to seven before Mills scored six straight points.

VanVleet's 3-pointer trimmed the lead to seven with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter, but the Nets went ahead by 12 on Durant's jumper with 3:59 to play.

Harden followed with a 3-pointer to bump the lead to 15. The Raptors answered with a 7-0 run, but couldn't make up the rest of the margin.

Toronto took a 43-42 lead when Achiuwa made a 3-pointer with 5:33 to play in the second quarter. The lead reached five when Anunoby capped a 7-0 run with a layup.

A dunk by Scottie Barnes after he stripped the ball from Durant put the Raptors ahead by seven points with 29.9 seconds left in the quarter. Toronto led 60-53 at halftime.

Griffin's 3-pointer capped Brooklyn's 9-0 run to open the third quarter.

Brooklyn took a 10-point lead on Durant's 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the quarter. Toronto responded by scoring the next eight points, but Durant completed the third-quarter scoring to give Brooklyn an 88-77 lead.

Khem Birch (knee) did not play for the Raptors.

Raptors: Fred VanVleet 21 (3/8 3PT, 8 AST), OG Anunoby 16 (6/10 2PT, 1/6 3PT, 8 REB), Pascal Siakam 15 (4/9 2PT, 2 BLK), Gary Trent 14 (7/9 2PT, 0/5 3PT), Precious Achiuwa 13 (5/9 2PT, 8 REB), Scottie Barnes 8 (4/6 2PT, 7 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL).

Nets: Kevin Durant 31 (8/12 2PT, 3/6 3PT, 6/6 FT, 7 REB, 7 AST, 7 TO), James Harden 28 (7/10 2PT, 3/10 3PT, 5/6 FT, 10 REB, 8 AST), Blake Griffin 14 (4/6 3PTT, 11 REB), Patty Mills 13 (3/6 3PT, 4 TO), Bruce Brown 12 (6/9 2PT), Joe Harris 11 (3/7 3PT).

Kevin Durant's performance

James Harden's performance

Highlights

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