The Nets picked up their fourth straight win on Friday night and James Harden finished the game with a triple-double, which meant he didn’t have to spend much time harping on a particularly brutal possession late in the third quarter.
With just over three minutes to go in the period, and with the Nets up by 12, Harden took a pass from Kevin Durant near halfcourt with 17 seconds left on the shot clock. Eight of those seconds were spent looking for a driving lane, and when he couldn’t find one, Harden dribbled back out beyond the 3-point line, and when he prepared to dribble between his legs and go for another drive, he bounced the ball right off his foot and casually jogged after it as the ball rolled across midcourt.
It would have been ruled backcourt as soon as Harden touched it, but instead of making contact with the ball and whistling the play dead, Harden stared at the rolling ball while Detroit’s Saddiq Bey chased the ball down, picked it up and drove in for a wide open two-handed slam to cut the deficit to 10.
It was a complete mental lapse by Harden, who luckily didn’t pay for the mistake, even as the Pistons roared back in the fourth quarter before Brooklyn finished off the 96-90 victory.
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