Joe Harris catches fire as the Brooklyn Nets rout the Boston Celtics in Game 2
Coverage of the NBA playoffs continues on Thursday night as the Miami Heat host the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 down in the series and in desperate need of a win. Watch Jimmy Butler and Giannis Antetokounmpo battle it out once again, live from 12:30pm on Sky Sports Main Event & Arena
Wednesday 26 May 2021 16:50, UK
Joe Harris exploded for 16 points in the first seven minutes to send the Brooklyn Nets on their way to a 130-108 win over the Boston Celtics in a Game 2 they never looked like losing.
James Harden has the ball. Blake Griffin screens, giving him just enough room to attack. What do you do?
Switch onto Blake and then close out Harden? Ok, fine. The ball moves over to Kyrie Irving. Close out Kyrie Irving? Ok, fine. Over to Kevin Durant. Close out Kevin Durant? Ok, fine. There's Joe Harris in the corner. Swish.
And now the least heralded of Brooklyn's Globetrotter starting five is now torching you alive.
In the first quarter against the Boston Celtics, in fact not even that, the first seven minutes of the opening quarter, Harris had 16 points, four rebounds and two steals. He made 6 of 7, including 4 of 4 from deep, before James Harden had even attempted a shot. That's one of the best scorers in NBA history holding back, simply because he can afford to.
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No need to rush into things when you have the NBA's best catch-and-shoot scorer going supernova alongside you.
The Brooklyn Nets ended up amassing their new franchise record for points in a first quarter - 40. By the time we were a couple of minutes into the second, Harden had taken three shots: a missed floater and two three-point attempts. He made both and was fouled on the second, giving him an instant seven points and the Nets an early 21-point lead.
As much fight as the Celtics have, by that point it was clear it was going to be a very, very long night. Only physically, however. Mentally, it seemed the contest was over then and there.
For the Brooklyn Nets, this was simply a night for more records to be broken and more history to be made, even more decadent icing on the cake of a franchise-altering season that saw them finish with their best-ever winning percentage and the most efficient offense the NBA has ever seen.
The human flamethrower Joe Harris finished with 25 points - a personal career-high in the playoffs - along with 7-10 shooting from deep. His six three-point bombs in the first half were a Nets franchise record in the postseason, as were his seven for the entire game.
Their halftime lead of 24 points was the second-largest in franchise postseason history. Their scarcely believable third-quarter points total of 109 was a new record, too.
By that point, it really was getting out of hand. The Celtics' only star left for the locker room holding his face in that same third period. Jayson Tatum had tussled for loose ball with Durant, who appeared to inadvertently scratch his right eye. He would not return for the rest of the game and that was most certainly that, if it hadn't been already.
Just to add insult to injury, quite literally, Blake Griffin started to dunk again. Not just dunk again, but with authority. In the space of a minute, Griffin threw down two nasty left-handed hammers over multiple defenders, both a result of frenetic ball movement by the Nets around the perimeter and the give-and-go verve of first Harden and then Harris.
Griffin, who has learned to fly again since freeing himself from the apparent anchor around his ankles that was the Detroit Pistons midway through the season, took easy handoffs under the basket before rising up for the hoop and the harm.
There was nothing the Celtics could do, no poison they could pick. All were as lethal as the other.
Because of this, Brooklyn's fourth and fifth options going to town, it meant Irving, Durant and Harden barely had to roll out of second gear. It was uncomfortable how comfortable they were.
There are two Celtics positives to take away. Marcus Smart exploded for all of his 19 points in the third quarter, including four three-pointers in a row, for no reason other than to keep it moderately respectful. Robert Williams III backed up his franchise record-setting eight blocks in Game 1 with another impressively high-energy performance, although he did get into foul trouble.
That, unfortunately, is about it.
With 7:31 remaining in the fourth, James Harden headed to the bench to join the rest of the Nets starters. The lead was 26. It finished 130-108, a difference of 22. Even that doesn't really do it justice.
Bit by bit, these 'Scary Hours' keep on getting scarier. You get the nagging impression this series won't go on all that much longer.
