NEW YORK — Kevin Durant strapped on his cape and saved the Nets.
He saved them with an outrageous stat line, with an epic fourth quarter, and without much help from a hobbled James Harden. He scored 49 points in 48 minutes with 17 rebounds and 10 assists, an otherwordly triple-double and an otherworldy performance. Nineteen of his points arrived in the final period, and he hit the biggest shot of the night — a pull-up 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give the Nets a four-point edge with 50 seconds remaining.
Given the stakes and Brooklyn’s real opportunity for a title run if it gets past Milwaukee, Tuesday was probably the biggest basketball game in the nine-year history of Barclays Center.
And Durant came through to give the Nets a 3-2 series lead with a 114-108 victory.
Harden made a noble attempt at rushing back from his hamstring strain, but the former MVP on 1 1/2 legs was a step slow and managed just five points on 1-of-10 shooting.
His problems were evident from tipoff. Milwaukee employed a physical defense and Harden couldn’t create any space. He was scoreless in the first half on six shots, settling for long 3-pointers while roaming the perimeter.
The Nets fell into a 17-point hole and it was difficult to envision a comeback with Kyrie Irving inactive and Harden a shell of himself. But Durant flipped the switch, and got some help from Jeff Green — who scored 27 points in 34 minutes off the bench. The Bucks, meanwhile, collapsed in the fourth quarter under Durant’s greatness. They had no answer.
Harden’s surprise return dominated the pregame talk, and his presence drew enough defensive attention to give Durant some operating room. Only a day earlier, the Nets ruled out Harden for Game 5 with a hamstring injury. But the former MVP pushed for the opportunity, which elevated quickly.
Harden went from officially “out” to “doubtful” to “questionable” to “starter” within hours.
Steve Nash previously said he wanted Harden’s status to be independent of Irving’s injury, but the coach acknowledged Tuesday that the former MVP couldn’t ignore the circumstances.
“I think that’s what’s driving James. He wants to play. He wants to win a championship. He loves the playoffs and to play in this time of year,” Nash said. “So it’s been really difficult on him. It’s definitely a source of motivation right now. James is driving this.”
Of course, there were concerns for Harden’s health. He injured the same hamstring three times in the last two-plus months. The 31-year-old hadn’t played since a re-aggravation in the opening minute of Game 1, relegated to the street clothes while the Nets dropped two straight in Milwaukee and Irving’s ankle bent to a painful sprain.
Harden tested his hamstring at least twice Tuesday before tipoff — first in the morning shootaround, then during pregame warmups. He apparently passed the tests, but the real answer was Durant.
