With no other choice, Donovan called a timeout and took Reddish out, along with Jeff Green, who'd been struggling with his shot.
Batum and Davis returned to the floor early.
With AD back on the court, the Thunder's defensive efficiency improved considerably.
At the very least, plays like Brown's off-ball cuts became much less effective.
The Nets, however, continued to shoot well from the perimeter.
Fortunately, SGA and AD were just as dangerous running a Pick-and-Roll through the middle.
So when Chen Xi returned to the floor with five minutes and nine seconds left in the Second Quarter, the score had become 52–49.
The Thunder were down by three again~~
But the gap wasn't large, so it wasn't anything to worry Chen about.
With Chen Xi back on the court, no one thought the Nets could hold the Thunder off with a lead that small.
During a dead ball, Chen Xi and Westbrook returned to the floor, replacing Bane and Gafford.
Chen took the three, and AD moved back to center.
Then play resumed.
The Nets had possession.
Harden had also returned during that dead ball. He took Johnson's pass, turned, and moved to the Top of the Key, facing up to begin his attack with a one-on-one against Westbrook.
After a signature string of Crossover Dribbles, Harden smoothly stepped back and launched a three.
The move wasn't big, but the rhythm was perfect.
The ball barely cleared Westbrook's fingertips, then dropped cleanly through the hoop.
That was pure individual talent.
With less than eight seconds left on the shot clock, Harden had just returned to the court, yet he needed no time to settle in. He came right in, went straight to work, and drilled a contested three to push the lead to six.
James Harden was terrifying~~
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