NBA: Nets send a message with rout of Bulls

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Brooklyn showed just how dangerous they can be with their “Big Three” on Wednesday (Jan 12), manhandling the Bulls 138-112 in Chicago in a clash of the top teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference.

The Nets had Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the floor for just the second game this season and the superstar trio didn’t disappoint.

Durant scored 27 points, Harden added 25 points and a season-high 16 assists and Irving chipped in with nine points in his third game of the season.

Irving made his debut in January after the Nets decided they would let the unvaccinated player join the team for road trips even though New York’s vaccine mandate means he can’t play home games in Brooklyn.

While Irving may still be finding his feet, Durant delivered another dominant performance, scoring 17 points in the third quarter.

“These last 10 games we’ve been up and down, so we wanted to come out against a really good team who’ve been playing very, very good basketball and execute and play really good on both ends of the ball,” Harden said. “I think we did that.”

Elsewhere, Knicks forward RJ Barrett starred again, scoring 32 points to lead New York to a 108-85 victory over Dallas that halted the Mavericks' six-game NBA winning streak.

The 21-year-old Barrett posted his second straight 30-point game, after scoring 31 in a rout of San Antonio on Monday.

Mitchell Robinson added a season-high 19 - including three dunks in a third-quarter dominated by the Knicks.

All five Knicks starters scored in double figures.

That included Julius Randle, who chipped in 17 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and handed out eight assists in a performance that will likely go some way to easing his recent strained relations with New York fans he had chastised for booing the struggling home side.

With 1:13 remaining, fans were chanting Barrett's name when Randle got the ball to Barrett in the corner for a three-pointer that sparked a celebration in Madison Square Garden.

"It felt great," Barrett said of a victory that saw the Knicks improve to 21-21 for the season. "It felt great especially because so many guys played well.

"Even that last shot, for me to get 30 (points), you know (that was) Julius being unselfish."

Luka Doncic led the Mavs with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

The Miami Heat again found a way to win with stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler sidelined, beating the Hawks 115-91 in Atlanta.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 21 points, one of seven Miami players to score in double figures.

Caleb Martin added 18, and Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent added 14 points apiece off the bench as the Heat shook off a slow start to post a second straight double-digit win.

Miami trailed 27-21 after a tough first quarter in which they coughed up seven turnovers and made just one of five three-point attempts.

Herro keyed the comeback with 16 points and eight assists in the first half as Miami took a 56-51 lead at halftime.

They opened the second half with a 16-0 scoring run and took a 19-point lead into the final quarter.

The Heat held Hawks star Trae Young to 15 points on four-of-15 shooting. They'll try to double-down on the Hawks when they open a four-game homestand against them on Friday.

The Boston Celtics shrugged off their recent road woes with a 119-100 victory over the Pacers in Indianapolis.

Jaylen Brown scored 34 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and Jayson Tatum contributed 33 points for the Celtics, who had lost their last six games on the road.

They beat the Pacers for the second time in three days, seizing control early and keeping the accelerator down.

Boston jumped to a 10-point lead and led 54-49 at halftime. They out-scored the Pacers 33-22 in the third quarter and led by as many as 24 in the fourth as they powered to the line.