Nets reaction: James Harden beats Pistons with another MVP performance

A short-handed Brooklyn Nets team suffered a blowout loss to the Jazz with zero members of the Big 3 available, but hours before Friday’s road game in Detroit, the Nets announced that Harden would be available.

This changed the atmosphere of things significantly and it showed right out the gates. The Beard had 17 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds at the half his squad was up 59-50.

In the second half, James Harden topped himself. He finished the game with 44 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. This half also featured a vintage Blake Griffin, who was catching lobs from the maestro himself. Although it got really sloppy for the Nets towards the end, they held on, but barely. Harden fouled out in the last minute to send Mason Plumlee to the free throw line, which was a wise move considering Plumlee is not a great free throw shooter.

After struggling to inbound the ball and close out, Brooklyn came away with the win, 113-111.

Blake Griffin's return to Detroit was not welcoming from Isaiah Stewart

In the first half, Blake Griffin and Isaiah Stewart were going at it with each other down low. It seemed like it was just both players challenging each other through physicality until things got out of hand in the second quarter. Griffin inadvertently elbowed Stewart after a defensive play and the Pistons big man took it as the six-time All-Star doing it on purpose. In response, Stewart elbowed Blake Griffin back and after a review by the refs, it was determined to be a flagrant 2 foul, which led to his ejection. https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1375598249445187585

James Harden is not just looking like the MVP, but he's looking like the most valuable superstar on this Brooklyn team

James Harden is looking like the guy every player on this Brooklyn team can rely on when it comes to winning. Harden has averaged the most minutes on the squad and his availability has been second to none. As a result, the Beard has gained the respect of his peers on this new squad faster than most players that usually get traded to new teams in the middle of a season. Yes, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have played for the Brooklyn Nets longer than James Harden. But that does not make their absence from their teammates any less impactful considering they have not really been as available this season. As talented as they are, their teammates are going to war on the court and to have someone like James Harden who is always trying to be out there with them, despite his injuries, it gives the others a different sort of respect factor for him.

Nicolas Claxton can be a DPOY candidate one day

Although this was not one of Nicolas Claxton's best performances, just watching his consistency playing perimeter defense on guards game by games only further shows how gifted the young big man is defensively. Once he improves his interior defense and just gets faster on the perimeter, he will be a force to be reckoned with when defending guards or bigs in this league. Keep in mind, he is only 21-years-old. He can most definitely be a future Defensive Player of the Year candidate if he steadily improves with age.

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