NEW YORK — Winning games without Kyrie Irving is doable.
Winning games without Irving and Kevin Durant? Easier said than done.
The Nets entered Friday night’s matchup against the Orlando Magic with their longest injury report of the season: No Irving (unvaccinated), no Durant (right shoulder sprain), no Joe Harris (left ankle sprain), no Paul Millsap (personal reasons) and no Nic Claxton (out of shape).
As a result they limped their way to a 115-113 victory over the young Magic. The Nets are now in sole possession of the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, though that can change with a Miami Heat win over the Wizards on Saturday.
It was an inefficient scoring night for James Harden, who tallied 36 points on just 7-of-25 shooting from the field and 3-of-13 shooting from downtown, but despite the short-handed roster, he had some help and got to the free-throw line with regularity, making 19 of 20 tries.
Patty Mills, in yet another start for the injured Harris, exploded for 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting from downtown. James Johnson came off the bench and had his best game of the season with 17 points, and LaMarcus Aldrdige added another 15 off the bench.
The victory, however, did not come easy.
The Nets had to battle back from a 19-point deficit after the Magic pounced with a 41-25 opening quarter. Top-five pick Jalen Suggs scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, the Big Apple’s own Cole Anthony (16 points) hit timely shots albeit in an inefficient shooting night, Franz Wagner scored another 17 and the Magic got 32 combined points off the bench from Terrence Ross (15) and Chuma Okeke (17).
Orlando took its largest lead with 3:33 to go in the second quarter.
And then the third-quarter Nets made an appearance. They outscored the Magic 37-21 in the period and never looked back. Johnson and Harden both recorded 10 boards to help shore the Nets’ rebounding deficiencies. Harden has attempted at least 11 free throws in four of his last five games, and on Friday, free throws helped sustain his poor shooting night.
Harden, though, missed a free throw with 4.8 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, a free throw that would have made it a four-point game, and virtually sealed the deal. He missed the first and made the second to make it a three-point game, and the Nets stuck to Steve Nash’s script: fouling instead of letting a team get a shot off at the buzzer.
The Magic had no answer for Lamarcus Aldridge. He buried his shoulder and elbow deep into Wagner’s chest on back-to-back possessions late in the fourth quarter, and on both possessions, Wagner fell two steps back, giving Aldridge enough room to flip a hook shot into the basket.
More importantly, Harden kept the ship from capsizing with Durant out of the rotation. This season hasn’t been easy for a Nets team that was expecting Irving to be part of its plans, only for those plans to crumble with the city’s vaccine mandate. Harris’ absence robbed the Nets of their best shooter, and missing both Millsap and Claxton depleted Brooklyn’s front court depth.
Durant, though, is expected to return for Monday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the others, minus Irving, are expected to return shortly after. The marathon continues for a Nets team still searching to find its rhythm, its identity and its stride in pursuit of a championship.
