Nets can't be stopped in rout of Thunder

This — this is the dream that must’ve been dancing in Sean Marks’ head.

Even without Kevin Durant, who was out because of load maintenance, Friday night’s 147-125 drubbing of the Thunder was everything the Nets’ general manager could have hoped for when he was building this super-team.

Kyrie Irving and James Harden lived up to their seemingly limitless potential, with their chemistry at a peak. The defense, a point of weakness, held up enough to make the big leads stick. And, perhaps above all else, the win at Chesapeake Energy Arena not only was definitive but looked downright easy at times — the result of a team that had discovered its rhythm and couldn’t be stopped.

Harden registered the 49th triple-double of his career: 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Irving had 25 points and seven assists. Joe Harris added 20 points and Bruce Brown 19 as nine Nets scored in double figures, which matched a franchise record.

"They were both incredible," Steve Nash said of the two superstars on the floor. "James manages the game so well — spreads the floor, scores, assists, rebounds and gets his hands on balls defensively. And Kyrie was just incredible: shot-making, making some amazing plays with the basketball and [being] such a threat out there and so difficult for defenses to contain."

The results reflected that. The point total tied the team record for a regulation game that they set against Detroit in 1982. They shot 57.0% from the floor and 42.1% from three-point range.

The Nets also were able to pull their starters with 4:44 to go — a big bonus with Harden entering the night averaging 41 minutes since joining the team and Irving averaging 35.7.

"I won’t take any day for granted," Irving said. "This doesn’t happen often in history where you have this group together at this point. Some of the guys were starters last year in their respective teams and other guys were MVP candidates. To have all that collective talent and not get the most out of it, we’d be doing ourselves a disservice."

The game was a loud statement to the detractors who said this team of disparate offensive-minded stars wouldn’t be able to meld together quickly. The Nets (13-8) won their fourth in a row as they continue to climb the ranks in the Eastern Conference.

"It’s huge for us," said Brown, recalling how the Thunder beat the Nets by 13 points earlier this month. "It was fun to be out there. We were laughing, playing hard, joking around . . . Everybody got in, so that was cool."

The Nets led 76-59 at the break, making it the most points they’ve scored in any half this season. They dominated in the paint during that stretch, outscoring OKC 38-14.

Irving hit a floater with six-tenths of a second left in the first quarter, kicking off a 17-0 run that produced a 51-27 lead. The Thunder were held without a field goal for more than eight minutes before Luguentz Dort hit a three-pointer with 8:35 left in the first half.

By the end of the third quarter, the Nets led 115-94 — the second-highest point total over three quarters in franchise history. The Thunder put together a 10-0 run early in the fourth, but it was a blip compared to the consistent Nets onslaught.

The Thunder (8-10) entered with one of the least effective offenses in the NBA: 26th at 106.2 points per game. By contrast, the Nets’ high-flying scorers had them averaging 119.8 points per game, which, heading into Friday, was tied with the Bucks for first in the league.

"We struggled defensively at times, but I think we’re getting more solid with our game plan defensively, which is important," Nash said. "Offensively, we’re starting to see a little bit more of a flow. I think we’re slowly inching forward at both ends of the floor."

On Friday, it looked as if they were doing it pretty quickly.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.