James Harden Says Nets Showed 'Great Glimpses' in 1st Game with Durant, Kyrie

The Brooklyn Nets debuted their new Big Three of James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. While it ended in a 147-135 loss for the Nets, Harden was hopeful about the future with his new teammates.

"Some great glimpses," he said. "We started off the game very good. The entire game, we've just got to find a way to get stops when we need to."

Harden finished with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in 51 minutes in the double overtime loss. Durant led the Nets with 38 points and Irving added 37, but the squad was no match for the Cavaliers, who were paced by 42 points from Collin Sexton. 

Through three games since joining the Nets in a four-team blockbuster trade, Harden has averaged 29.0 points, 12.7 assists and 9.3 rebounds.

Alongside Durant through his first two games, the pair made history as one of the NBA's most dynamic offensive duos. They combined to score 138 points through their first two outings, the second-most points by a pair of teammates in their first two games with a franchise. Wilt Chamberlain and York Larese collected 151 in their first two games with the Philadelphia Warriors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info), but Harden and Durant were much more balanced. Larese added just 12 of those points. 

Harden and Duran are the only teammates to score 30 points each in their first two games together. 

With Irving back in the lineup Wednesday after missing five games for personal reasons and two for conditioning work, Brooklyn's Big Three dominated. However, the defense struggled, giving the Cavaliers an open lane on 13 of 22 field goal attempts as they compiled a 36-point third quarter, per ESPN Stats & Info (h/t ESPN's Malika Andrews). 

They'll get another chance at the Cavaliers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.