Durant, Harden and Aldridge join forces to defeat the Cavaliers

NBA stars Kevin Durant, James Harden and LaMarcus Aldridge joined forces on Monday to masterfully lead the Brooklyn Nets in a 117-112 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Durant returned to the lineup after missing a game due to an injury to his right shoulder and excelled with 27 points, six rebounds and nine assists, with four of his goals on free throws with about 13 seconds remaining in the game.

His teammate Harden also stood out with 14 cards and 14 serves for scoring – his season high – and Aldridge with 21 points and 11 balls recovered in the rebounding fight off the bench.

Building on these brilliant performances, the Nets posted their sixth win in the last seven games.

With the Nets trailing at 105-102, Durant had a long shot from the baseline and then a layup to put Brooklyn in front.

Cleveland’s Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio later hit a 3-pointer to bring the Cavs closer to one point, but Aldridge scored later to extend the small lead again.

With the score 113-108 in favor of the Nets, Durant made all four of his free throws in the final 13.8 seconds remaining to freeze the score.

Darius Garland scored 24 and Jared Allen had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Lauri Markkanen followed with 22 points in their first game since Nov. 1 for the Cavs, who had chances down the stretch but missed shots and made critical mistakes. Cleveland has lost four games in a row.

Durant (24,367 points) moved within a goal of tying Allen Iverson (24,368) for 25th on the all-time scorers list.

Canastero Cam Thomas hit a 3-pointer and had a three-point play to power a 13-2 Nets offense in the final 2:32 minutes of the third quarter.

Then in the fourth quarter, Brooklyn, who was losing much of the game, took an 84-82 lead in the final 12 minutes of the game.

Tatum, with offensive overflow

In Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Jaylen Brown had 19 on his return from missing eight games through injury and the hosts Celtics edged the Houston Rockets 108-90, who suffered their 14th straight loss.

Dennis Schroder added 18 points for Boston, which posted its third win in a row and eighth in the last 11 games.

Al Horford finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for Boston. It was Tatum’s fourth straight game with 30 or more points. Armoni Brooks scored 17 points for Houston (1-16).

No one on the Rockets reached double-digit scores. The team’s only win was at home against Oklahoma City in its second game of the season.

Starting center Robert Williams III also returned for Boston after missing the last three games with a sore left knee. He captured 15 rebounds.

The Celtics (10-8) opened with a 17-0 offense midway through the third quarter, keeping the Rockets without a point for six minutes.

Jaylen Brown, sidelined with a right hamstring injury, put fans on their feet by scoring 10 points in a row by Boston.