NBA 2020-21: 5 Most impressive Brooklyn Nets wins so far
The 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets have been arguably the biggest story of the NBA season. Already boasting of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the team traded for James Harden, forming a fearsome "Big Three" featuring perennial All-Stars.
Though there has been a lot of discussion regarding the team's defense and how they would work on the offensive side of the ball, the Brooklyn Nets have put those concerns to rest with some stellar performances against some of the best teams in the league.
While they have already raked up some brilliant victories, we rank the five most impressive Brooklyn Nets wins of the 2020-21 NBA season.
5 Biggest wins from the Brooklyn Nets so far - 2020-21 NBA season
Though the trio has not played many games together since the trade was made back on January 13th, the team has been impressive on primetime.
The Brooklyn Nets are on a six-game winning-streak right now and are coming off consecutive victories on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers, who were without Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder, and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Though their win over the reigning champions could have been dismissed due to the Lakers' injuries, the Nets also played without Kevin Durant and swept their visit to Los Angeles in impressive fashion.
Even though their defense is 26th in the NBA (in terms of Defensive Rating), the Brooklyn Nets still have a 3.9 Net Rating (sixth-best) because they lead the NBA in Offensive Rating (118.6).
Without further ado, let's take a look at their best five wins since January 13th.
#5 Brooklyn Nets 125-123 Milwaukee Bucks - January 18th
In James Harden's second game with the Brooklyn Nets, they hosted Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on January 18th. Brooklyn came out of that matchup with a nail-biting victory over the red-hot Bucks, who had won seven of their previous eight games before that matchup at the Barclays Center.
Without Kyrie Irving (who was out for personal reasons), Durant and Harden led the Brooklyn Nets to a 125-123 win over the Bucks thanks to a game-winning three-pointer from KD with 36 seconds left.
In that game, all five starters for the Brooklyn Nets scored over 12 points, with Durant putting up 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Harden also put up 34 points and dished out 12 assists to overcome Giannis' 34-point outing and 47 points from Khris Middleton (25) and JFrue Holiday (22).
#4 Brooklyn Nets 109-98 LA Lakers - February 18th
The Brooklyn Nets have won their last six games and even though their defense is not the best in the league (they rank 26th in Defensive Rating) they have a 12-1 record against teams who are over .500.
Against the LA Lakers on February 18th, James Harden and Kyrie Irving led the Nets to a comfortable win over the reigning champions. With Durant sidelined, Harden and Irving showed great chemistry and a tremendous shooting night from the entire team and a good defensive effort against the shorthanded Lakers sealed the win.
Harden scored 23 points on the night and dished out 11 assists. The team hit 18 of their 39 three-point attempts with Joe Harris leading the role players with 21 points and 6/7 from the three-point line.
#3 Brooklyn Nets 112-108 LA Clippers - February 21st
The Brooklyn Nets' most recent win was against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Again, James Harden and Kyrie Irving led the team to a solid victory over a full-strength Los Angeles Clippers team.
Harden put up 37 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while Irving scored 28 points and dished out eight assists for the Nets, helping the team to a 112-108 win. The referees missed some calls at the end of the game that favored Brooklyn, but it was still an impressive performance from coach Steve Nash's squad.
#2 Brooklyn Nets 128-124 Phoenix Suns - February 16th
Harden guided Brooklyn to a big statement victory over the Phoenix Suns back on February 16th. Without Irving and Durant, Harden had a tall task against Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Phoenix Suns, who were on a six-game winning streak at the time.
The Brooklyn Nets overcame a 21-point deficit at halftime to seal an impressive victory on the road. They played tremendously and won the game behind Harden's 38 points and 11 assists.
Joe Harris put up 22 points for the Nets' cause and they overcame 51 points from Paul (29) and Booker (22).
#1 Brooklyn Nets 124-120 LA Clippers - February 2nd
The Brooklyn Nets swept their two-game season series against the Los Angeles Clippers with their most recent win. Their most impressive victory of the season was the first matchup between the two sides on February 2nd when they faced Clippers with Kevin Durant, Harden and Irving in the lineup.
Irving led the Nets' offense with 39 points, followed by Durant, who scored 28 points in just 13 shots. Harden racked up a triple-double with 23 points,12 rebounds and 14 assists as the Brooklyn Nets survived against Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Also read: Brooklyn Nets 112-108 LA Clippers: 5 hits and flops as James Harden and co. escape with narrow win