NEW YORK — James Harden is back.
And the Cavs are too. Back in the win column, anyway.
Cleveland snapped its two-game losing streak Sunday afternoon, holding off the pesky Brooklyn Nets, 106-102, inside Barclays Center.
“We didn’t play great and I thought they played really well,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said postgame. “Thought they got up under us, pressured us and forced us into a lot of turnovers. In the second half, we cleaned it up and we were a little better. Offense wasn’t great tonight. Wasn’t perfect. But we found a way.”
Harden, who missed the previous two defeats because of a fractured right thumb, went through his usual pregame workout about 60 minutes before tipoff. By the time it ended, he was given the medical green light.
And just like he has done since arriving in a trajectory-altering trade nearly a month ago, Harden made a significant difference Sunday afternoon.
Sparked by his return, the Cavs roared out to an early lead. It took Brooklyn, which entered the game on a seven-game losing skid, nearly five minutes to make its first field goal.
Even without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (groin) and starting small forward Dean Wade (ankle), Cleveland led the entire first quarter.
But as Atkinson went deeper into his thinned-out bench, the offense lost its flow and the Nets started pulling closer.
That ugly second quarter saw the Nets outscore the Cavs 15-8 over the first 6 1/2 minutes. That’s when Brooklyn took its first lead of the game.
In all, the Nets won the second quarter, 28-17, claiming a six-point advantage going into the half.
During those eye-gouging 12 minutes, Cleveland missed 14 of its 18 shot attempts and had as many turnovers (4) as assists.
“I thought it was energy and focus,” Atkinson explained. “We watched a couple clips. It wasn’t tactics. Our energy and focus wasn’t at a peak level at all. We talked about it at halftime. I thought in the second half we turned it up a little better.”
It took the heavily favored Cavaliers nearly seven minutes of third-quarter action to pull back in front.
Once they did, that seemed like it would be it — until the Nets reclaimed the lead in the closing seconds of the third.
Brooklyn was up one going into the fourth.
But Cleveland finally went ahead for good with 8:39 left, holding off a few final surges from the Lottery-bound Nets, as they even cut the Cleveland to one with 9.2 remaining.
Then after Dennis Schroder made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three, still a one-possession game, the Cavs fouled on purpose — just like against Detroit Friday night.
Only this time, the late-game strategy didn’t backfire.
Brooklyn rookie Danny Wolf made the first free throw. It was a two-point game. As he attempted to intentionally miss the second, firing the ball toward the hoop, it didn’t touch the rim, causing a violation and allowing the Cavs to narrowly escape after a few more free-throw makes.
“I feel like we played a good second half,” Evan Mobley said. “We talked about our mistakes in the first half and feel like everyone locked in and we played good basketball in the second half. It was good to be able to adjust like that.”
Harden, playing with a protective wrap on his right thumb, in a building he used to call home, nearly recorded a triple-double, piling up 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes. Harden also matched his highest free-throw tally as a Cavalier, going to the stripe 12 times.
“It was good,” Harden said when asked about his thumb. “Thought about playing last game. Thought about playing in Milwaukee. There’s going to be some discomfort, so just figuring out ways to fight through.
“Had too many turnovers. Some of them were just not being able to handle the ball properly but after this game hopefully get a couple days to relax and let it heal up. Got no other choice.”
Jarrett Allen, back where his NBA career started, finished with 20 points and six rebounds. Mobley added 17 points and 13 boards. Sam Merrill also reached double figures, scoring 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Brooklyn’s Wolf scored a career-high 23 points off the bench while sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 26 points on 10 of 17 from the field and 5 of 8 from deep.
February is now officially in the rearview. It was a transformative month.
An 8-3 record that allowed the Cavs to move up the Eastern Conference standings. Two confidence-boosting trades. Allen’s resurgence.
On Sunday, March got off to a good start. Well, good enough.
“Got the win,” Harden said. “That’s the most important thing. Just take it one game at a time.”
Up next
The Cavs will return home for a matchup against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
