James Harden doing whatever Nets need to win early in his tenure

He is pampered. He is out of shape. He doesn’t mesh well with other superstars.

That was the skinny on the not-so-skinny James Harden almost two weeks ago when the Nets pulled the trigger on the trade that created their Big 3.

No one doubted that Harden is a great offensive talent, one of the top scorers in the game. But his style of play is so isolation-dependent that he would seem to be an inelegant fit, to say the least, with superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

It is interesting, then, to see the completely deferential role that Harden has played since Irving returned to the team. Harden has played big, healthy minutes, unselfishly focused on getting his shooters shots and played some much-needed defense.

Harden, one of the premier scorers in the league, seemed to be concentrating so hard on fitting in with his new teammates that his scoring was taking a back seat. Until Monday night.

With Irving and Durant struggling to make shots against Miami’s zone defense, Harden scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nets to a 98-85 win over an injury- and illness-depleted Heat team.

"James stepped up and made some big shots down the stretch," coach Steve Nash said. "I give James the space offensively. He’s is one of the greatest offensive players to play the game. I trust him to figure out where he is with the game.

"He got it going. Got aggressive. Got on a roll and showed what a tough cover he is. That’s obviously the place we want him to be, where he’s playing with confidence and has the freedom to create with balanced scoring and playmaking."

The Nets were leading 81-80 with 4:59 left when Harden started knocking down shots. He shot 4-for-5 in the final quarter.

"I just wanted to be a bit more aggressive," he said. "Kevin and Kyrie are really good scorers. The shots they missed tonight they normally make. In the fourth quarter, when the game was getting close and kept going back and forth, I just wanted to be aggressive with my shot."

Harden scored 66 points in his first two games as a Net, but his production dropped dramatically when Irving returned to the team. Harden averaged 17.3 points in the next three games before Monday night, shooting 39% overall and 35% from three-point range. He contributed in other ways, though, averaging 11.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 42.0 minutes a game.

In the Nets’ win over the Heat on Saturday night, Harden scored 12 points and shot only 2-for-8. He also had 11 assists and seven rebounds and made two free throws with 2.7 seconds left that clinched the win. (He also committed a heady foul in the final seconds that prevented the Heat from attempting a potential tying three-pointer.)

It was Harden’s fifth double-double in five games, making him the first Nets player to record a points-assist double-double in five straight games since Deron Williams did so in the 2010-11 season. That streak ended Monday night, when he had eight assists.

Perhaps the most amazing stat is that Harden was averaging a career-high 41.4 minutes per game entering Monday, surviving a brutal stretch in which the Nets played three games in four nights, including a double-overtime game in Cleveland.

That has led some to charge that Harden was wearing a fat suit in Houston before his trade. No, I’m not making this up. Google "Harden" and "fat suit" and see what comes up.

No matter what he was wearing earlier this season in Houston, it’s clear that this is a place where he wants to be. He’s saying the right things. He’s bringing others into the game and he’s clearly trying to get a read on what this team needs from him.

Said Harden after Saturday’s win: "I just want to come in and get a feel for what is going on."

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.