Kyrie Irving established season bests of 40 points and nine 3-pointers and the Brooklyn Nets set a franchise record with 27 treys en route to a 136-125 victory over the host Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
James Harden made six 3-pointers while recording 29 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds as Brooklyn prevailed despite the absence of Kevin Durant (hamstring). The Nets, who attempted 47 treys, shot 57.4 percent from behind the arc and 57.3 percent overall.
The old franchise mark of 24 3-pointers was accomplished in a 124-96 rout of the Chicago Bulls on April 7, 2018.
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Hassan Whiteside accumulated season bests of 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings, who lost their fourth consecutive contest. Cory Joseph added a season-best 22 points and Buddy Hield made six 3-pointers while scoring 21 points.
Marvin Bagley III and De’Aaron Fox added 19 points apiece for Sacramento, which shot 53.1 percent from the field and was 12 of 33 from behind the arc.
Landry Shamet and Jeff Green added 13 points apiece for the Nets. Irving was 9 of 11 from 3-point range and Harden hit 6 of 10 attempts.
It was a two-point contest nearing the middle of the third quarter before the Nets erupted with 20 consecutive points to take control.
Irving made two 3-pointers while scoring eight points during the run and Harden’s 3-pointer capped it to give Brooklyn a 102-80 advantage with 2:44 remaining.
The Nets led 107-88 entering the final stanza, and the lead reached 125-98 when Harden knocked down the record breaking 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining.
Sacramento later ripped off 13 straight points to pull within 128-113 on Tyrese Haliburton’s 3-pointer with 3:47 left before Brooklyn staved off the charge to defeat the Kings for the fifth consecutive time.
Irving scored 16 first-quarter points but Sacramento led 37-36 after the conclusion of the stanza.
Brooklyn used a 14-3 burst in the second quarter to take a 64-52 lead on Shamet’s 3-pointer with 3:55 remaining. The Nets led 74-68 at the break.
Hield drained a 3-pointer to move Sacramento within 82-80 with 7:20 left in the third quarter prior to Brooklyn’s decisive spurt.
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–Field Level Media