Durant, Nets Win While Short-Handed With Harden Deal Pending

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 26 points as the solo superstar before soon fronting a brand new Big Three, leading the Brooklyn Nets — short-handed after agreeing to a trade for James Harden — to a 116-109 victory over the New York Knicks. Durant was already scheduled to play on both nights of a back-to-back for the first time since surgery to repair his Achilles tendon. He maybe had to do a little more than planned after the Nets shook up their roster earlier in the day with a four-team blockbuster centered around the acquisition of Harden, the three-time NBA scoring champion. Julius Randle scored 30 points for the Knicks.