Nets reaction: James Harden beats Pistons with another MVP performance

James Harden dropped a 40-point triple-double to beat the Pistons on Friday.

A short-handed Brooklyn Nets team suffered a blowout loss to the Jazz with zero members of the Big 3 available, but hours before Friday’s road game in Detroit, the Nets announced that Harden would be available.

This changed the atmosphere of things significantly and it showed right out the gates. The Beard had 17 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds at the half his squad was up 59-50.

In the second half, James Harden topped himself. He finished the game with 44 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. This half also featured a vintage Blake Griffin, who was catching lobs from the maestro himself. Although it got really sloppy for the Nets towards the end, they held on, but barely. Harden fouled out in the last minute to send Mason Plumlee to the free throw line, which was a wise move considering Plumlee is not a great free throw shooter.

After struggling to inbound the ball and close out, Brooklyn came away with the win, 113-111.