LOS ANGELES – James Harden scored 23 points, Joe Harris added 21 with six 3-pointers and the Brooklyn Nets routed the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 109-98 Thursday night for their season-best fifth straight victory.
Kyrie Irving had 16 points and seven rebounds as Brooklyn easily won this matchup of NBA title contenders and improved to 4-0 on a five-game West Coast road trip even without Kevin Durant, who missed his third straight game with a strained left hamstring.
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 15 points and hit five of the 18 3-pointers by the Nets, who pulled away comfortably in the second half.
Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder sat out for Los Angeles, leaving the defending champions without two of their top three scorers.