A lot has been said and written, and rightfully so, about the Brooklyn Nets’ ‘big three’ consisting of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving. But Joe Harris has been especially important of late for them, and he demonstrated that along with Harden on Thursday night as the duo helped take them past the Los Angeles Lakers 109-98 on the road. Harden had 23 (as well as 11 assists) on a fairly mundane, ordinary night from the floor (he was eight of 15 from the field) while Harris chipped in with 21 against what could be a potential fellow NBA Finalist.

18 of those came from three-point land as he nailed six three-pointers on the evening. Both teams were missing big names, with the Lakers having to do without Anthony Davis and the Nets doing without Durant. LeBron James, to no one’s surprise, led all scorers in what was a fairly comfy victory procession for the Nets. He put up 32 points, but it was not enough to overcome a ‘small ball’ Nets lineup on the night. They fell to 22-8 with the defeat while the Nets improved to 19-12.