By Adrian Stewart Co
Collin Sexton heated up in second overtime as Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a 147-135 stunner over Brooklyn Nets in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
After sending the match to second extension with his game-tying triple, Sexton unloaded back-to-back three-pointers to surge the Cavaliers ahead at 136-129.
The Nets rallied to within 131-136 but Sexton drained two more triples followed by another outside conversion from former Brooklyn player Taurean Prince to extend the lead to 145-131.
Sexton finished the match with 42 points, including five triples, while Cedi Osman contributed 25 markers as the Cavaliers halted its losing run to improve to 9-7.
Prince debuted for the Cavs with 17 points, Larry Nance Jr. and Damean Dotson finished with 15 markers each, while Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen ended up with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Kevin Durant finished with 38 points, Kyrie Irving added 37 markers in his return after seven games, while James Harden had triple-double 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as the Nets dropped to 7-7.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia 76ers cruised to solo first place in the Eastern Conference standings following its 117-109 victory over shorthanded Boston Celtics.
Joel Embiid tallied double-double 42 points and 10 rebounds, while Tobias Harris added 22 markers and Shake Milton contributed 16 as the 76rs improved to 10-5. Boston slumped to 8-5.
In other results, Dallas Mavericks (7-7) edged Indiana Pacers (8-6), 124-112; Miami Heat (6-7) walloped Toronto Raptors (5-9), 111-102; and Atlanta Hawks (7-7) whipped Detroit Pistons (3-11), 123-115.
BOX SCORE:
CLEVELAND 147 – Sexton 42, Osman 25, Prince 17, Nance 15, Dotson 15, Drummond 13, Allen 12, Okoro 8.
BROOKLYN 135 – Durant 38, Irving 37, Harden 21, Green 16, Jordan 13, Harris 6, Perry 4, Luwawu-Cabarrot 0, Brown 0.
Quarterscores: 28-23, 51-49, 87-78, 113-113, 127-127, 147-135./ASC, WDJ