Fortunately, even though Harden's personal form was fluctuating more wildly than ever, and his outside shooting remained awful in the second half, his elite point-guard-level playmaking was still there.
His inability to get his own offense going had diminished his ability to break down the opposing defense.
But at least LeBron still knew how to get the ball to the right person at the right time...
That kept the Nets from suddenly losing their rhythm on offense, at least.
That was enough!
Before long, the second half began.
The players from both teams returned to center court and prepared for another round of battle.
Brooklyn struck first.
Kevin Durant came out firing on all cylinders.
First, he used screens to get the Bucks caught in two mismatches, then faced up and scored on Lillard twice in a row.
He finished the possessions with a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer.
With his excellent touch and the advantage of the mismatches, KD knocked down both shots with ease.
At the start of the second half, he spent little energy leading the Nets on a 5–0 run, cutting the deficit to eight. For Nets fans, it was undoubtedly a shot in the arm.
But Giannis immediately began his show again.
After moving up for a pick and roll, he rolled to the basket and caught the ball around the mid-range, then faced up and drove. He powered past Claxton into the paint, used a pump fake to get him in the air, then jumped again and slammed it home.
That powerful dunk instantly snuffed out the Nets' momentum.
After that, Harden continued to run the Nets' offense, trying to set up a few role players and find easy baskets.
The results weren't especially efficient, but at least they helped the team keep the