Nets beat the Magic, Simmons leaves game with left knee soreness

The Nets played the Magic at home at Barclays Center. Durant scored 17 points in the first half of the game, and Brooklyn went into the second half up by one point, 52-51. Durant stepped it up a gear in the third quarter, scoring 19 points to give the Nets their largest lead of 11 points early in the final period. The Magic also held on and cut the lead to 106-102 with 1:01 left, but Claxton's dunk with an assist from Irving at the end sealed the win and got them back to .500 with a 109-102 victory.
Kevin Durant, who made 19 of 24 shots, had a season-high 45 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, Kyrie Irving had 20 points, and Nick Claxton had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Against the Magic, first overall draft pick Paolo Bankero and Bol each scored 24 points and Franz Wagner 21, but lost their fifth straight and seventh in their last eight games.
The Nets were close to getting Yuta Watanabe and T.J. Warren back, but Simmons left the game with a sore left knee. He missed five games the last time he injured his left knee. The Nets will play their next game against the Washington Wizards.