CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant returned to Brooklyn's lineup and scored 27 points, James Harden added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-112.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Nets, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Brooklyn (13-5) fought back frm an 11-point halftime deficit to take the lead before holding off a Cleveland rally in the fourth.
Darius Garland scored 24, Jarett Allen had 20 points and 15 rebounds after missing the last three games, and Lauri Markkanen scored 22 in his first action since Nov. 1 for the still short-handed Cavs (9-9), who had chances down the stretch but missed some shots and made critical mistakes. Cleveland has lost four straight.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Cavaliers, who will welcome defending Western Conference champion Phoenix to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Wednesday night. The Suns have won 13 in a row, with the first in the streak coming back on Oct. 30 against Cleveland.
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