Getty James Harden (left) and Kevin Durant.
It looks like Brooklyn Nets small forward Kevin Durant’s brother is upset with Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden.
During the Nets-Sixers clash on March 10, Durant’s brother went off on Harden during an Instagram live session. Take a look:
Durants brother was all of NETSWORLD Last night 🤣🤣🤣🤣#NetsWorld
Durant’s brother kept asking for Harden to “show up.” The Beard requested a trade from Durant and the Nets at the trade deadline and was sent to the Sixers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. Philadelphia entered the Brooklyn game undefeated with Harden in the lineup and Durant’s brother wanted to see what all the hype was about.
However, Harden and the Sixers didn’t show up against the Nets. Brooklyn defeated Philadelphia by 29 points and Harden had one of the worst games of his career.
Harden Was Awful Against Nets
Harden had a night to forget against his old team. The one-time MVP finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists while shooting 3-of-17 from the field, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. He committed four turnovers and had a plus-minus of -30.
“There’s no excuses. I got to be better individually,” Harden said after the game, via Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. “Some turnovers were, you know, just careless. Individually I got to be better and then as a team, you know, I watch film to see where we can be better and we’ll just try to continue to improve. Like this is only our sixth game together as a unit, I’m still trying to figure things out.”
Durant’s brother watched KD torch the Sixers for 25 points and 14 rebounds. The superstar shot 10-of-17 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in what was a statement game for the Nets, who improved to 34-33 on the season.
Durant: Nets Were ‘Most Definitely’ Playing for Simmons
Durant said during his postgame media session that the Nets were “most definitely” playing for Simmons, who was booed by Sixers fans despite not suiting up.
“I think all of us were,” Durant said, via Nick Friedell of ESPN. “We look at Ben as our brother, so we knew that this was a hostile environment and we knew that he didn’t have the opportunity to play and we wanted to come out there and have [the fans] focus on the court, more so than always focusing on him. So they focused on the court tonight, and it’s hard for you to chant at Ben Simmons when you’re losing by that much.”
Even though Durant was happy the Nets demolished the Sixers, though, he tried to tamp down the meaning of a regular-season win.
“Did we win a championship tonight? No,” Durant said, via Friedell. “Did we clinch a playoff spot? No. For you guys on the outside with the whole James situation and just the entertainment aspect of it, I’m sure it was bigger. But for us, we move on to the next one.”
Durant and the Nets are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings. If they don’t get to the sixth spot by the end of the regular season, they will participate in the play-in tournament.
So while it must have been nice for Durant’s brother to watch the Nets destroy the Sixers and Harden play poorly, Brooklyn still has a lot of work to do.