James Harden, Joe Harris star as Nets outlast Pelicans

NEW ORLEANS — Sometimes, the most damaging punch is the one you don’t see coming. The Pelicans are the worst team in the NBA, but they overcame a 21-point third-quarter deficit to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter Friday night at Smoothie King Center.

But the Nets escaped a potentially embarrassing loss by putting together a 19-8 finishing kick to pull out a 120-112 victory. The Nets are 4-1 on their season-high six-game road trip, which ends Sunday night in Oklahoma City.

The Nets went into a late tailspin similar to their meltdown at the end of their loss Monday in Chicago. The Pelicans cut their deficit to 12 at the end of the third quarter and rode the momentum to an extended 34-6 run, including eight points from Trey Murphy III, to take a 104-101 lead with 4:26 left to play.

"We’re not built to look at our opponent and say we’re 15 points better than them or 10 points better," James Harden said. "We don’t have the luxury of that. We’re only [13] games in, so we still have a long ways to go toward finding our identity. It’s the fifth game on a six-game road trip. It was ugly, but we’ll take it. Those wins add up."

A tying three-pointer by Bruce Brown triggered the Nets’ closing run as Harden and Kevin Durant each scored six points in that span to put the game out of reach.

"I think we took our foot off the gas," Nets coach Steve Nash said of his team’s faltering finish. "They played harder than us, and we didn’t match their energy. They found momentum, and a couple shots went in. Now we find ourselves just trying to survive.

"Down the stretch was pretty solid. Kevin obviously went to work. We got him the ball in good spots, and just overall, we executed defensively down the stretch and our defense picked up in the last couple minutes."

Harden led the Nets (9-4) with 39 points and 12 assists, Durant totaled 27 points and eight assists, and Joe Harris had 24 points while shooting 6-for-8 shooting from three-point range. As a team, the Nets shot 18-for-34 from three-point range (52.9%). Jonas Valanciunas topped the Pelicans (1-12) with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and former Net Garret Temple added 17 points.

The Pelicans are off to the worst start in the league thanks in large part to injuries to key players. Zion Williamson has not played all season because of a fractured foot and Brandon Ingram (right hip contusion) missed his seventh straight game despite taking part in the morning shootaround.

In the opening quarter, it was the Nets’ offense that caught fire courtesy of 5-for-5 shooting from three-point range by Harris and 7-for-10 as a team. The Nets had a 20-6 run that included four three-pointers and gave them a 10-point lead.

The Nets hit another flurry of threes in the second period and were 12-for-18 from deep to secure a 66-59 halftime lead. But their defense wasn’t exactly lockdown in the first half as they allowed the Pelicans to shoot 53.3% to keep within striking distance.

Harden was utterly dominant in the third period, hitting back-to-back threes that triggered an 11-2 surge for a 77-62 lead and then scoring seven points in another 14-3 burst that pushed the Nets’ lead to 21 at 93-72. But that’s where the Nets nearly lost control of the game until Brown got them going again with his big three-pointer.

"Yeah, that was a huge three by Bruce, big-time shot, confidence," Harden said. "After that, we got stops and we got some good offensive possessions and executed. The last couple minutes, we did a really good job of just locking in, but we’ve got to do a better job of not allowing that to happen. We’ll get there. It’s a process."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.