Irving and Harden lead Nets in Blake Griffin’s debut

New York. Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and James Harden added another 26 to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 113-106 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

Blake Griffin had his first knockout since December 2019 in his Nets debut and Nicolas Claxton had 16 points, including a pair of three-point plays in the final minutes to help contain the Wizards’ onslaught.

Russell Westbrook finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for Washington.

After trailing by as much as 14 points in the first half and 12 in the second, Washington moved closer 103-102 thanks to Westbrook’s layup with three minutes remaining.

But Claxton had two donkeys while taking Irving’s pass fouls down the stretch and Brooklyn held on to the lead.

DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and Joe Harris had 10 for the Nets, who have won 15 of their last 17 games.

Rui Hachimura finished with 20 points and 10 boards for the Wizards. Alex Len also scored 20 points and Bradley Beal added 17.

Griffin played his first game with the Nets since his termination with the Pistons, entering with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets lost their 20th consecutive game Sunday, falling 114-112 to the Oklahoma City Thunder when John Wall missed two attempts in the final 10 seconds of the game.

The string of 20 setbacks is the ninth worst in NBA history and the longest since Philadelphia set a record with 28 losses between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Houston took the 110-109 lead with less than three minutes left. After the Rockets took command, Lu Dort blocked a layup on Wall to protect a 113-112 lead. Wall then missed a shot of three as time expired.

Dort had 23 points and Isaiah Roby had 18 for the Thunder.

Christian Wood had 27 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for Houston, which also had Wall with 24 points and seven assists and Victor Oladipo with 23 points.

In Boston, Jaylen Brown posted a career-best 10-of-three with 34 points, Jayson Tatum added 23 and the Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 112-96 to emerge from a three-game loss.

The Celtics hit 23 baskets of three, a figure that was one of the mark for the franchise. Brown shot 18-10 from range.

Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando. The Magic beat Brooklyn on Friday to come off a nine-game losing streak.

In other games on Sunday, Philadelphia 101, New York 100, TE; Chicago 100, Detroit 86; Cleveland 116, Toronto 105; New Orleans 113, Denver 108; Indiana 109, Miami 106, TE.

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