Durant leads virus-hit Nets to victory over Sixers

NEW YORK • Kevin Durant finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the short-handed Brooklyn Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-105 in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Thursday.

The league's leading scorer delivered a key four-point play with 1min 46sec left to tie the game.

"It's a challenge knowing how you're going to come in to the games because a lot of these teams, they scheme for me a little different," Durant said after Brooklyn secured their fourth straight win.

The Nets, who top the Eastern Conference on 21-8, were missing seven players because of Covid-19, leaving them with just nine players - just one above the minimum requirement - available for the home game at the Barclays Centre.

This was Brooklyn's second successive game without regular starters James Harden and LaMarcus Aldridge, along with DeAndre' Bembry, Bruce Brown, Paul Millsap, Jevon Carter and James Johnson.

The Nets had just eight players available for Tuesday's game against the Toronto Raptors and have been forced to implement a hardship exception to try and add players to the roster.

But even with all their absentees, the team are proving why many consider them to be among the favourites for the NBA Championship.

"We can all hoop," Nic Claxton said of his fellow reserves being given bigger roles after tallying a season-high 17 points. "A lot of attention is going to KD, so we're just making plays."

In Phoenix, the Suns, who sit top of the West alongside the Golden State Warriors on 23-5, used a balanced attack as eight players scored in double figures in a 118-98 lopsided win over the Washington Wizards.

JaVale McGee finished with 17 points and eight rebounds as the hosts won for the 22nd time in the last 24 games.

In Indianapolis, Caris LeVert tallied a season-high 31 points as the Indiana Pacers handed the Detroit Pistons, the worst team in the NBA on 4-23, their 13th consecutive loss, 122-113.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE