KEVIN DURANT scored 32 points and led the spurt that broke open the game late in the third quarter, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 117-108 Wednesday night for their third straight victory.

“We’re finding that rhythm, we’re finding each other and it’s just getting a lot easier,” James Harden said.

Durant had 13 points in a 20-4 run to end the third that turned a tie game into a 16-point Nets lead going to the fourth. He added seven rebounds and five assists overall. Joe Harris made six 3-pointers and scored 18 points, Harden had 16 points and 11 assists, and the Nets finished 4-2 on their homestand.

“We knew it was going to be a process for us. I’m glad we were able to figure some stuff out the last few games and get back on the right page,” Durant said. “We know it’s going to be tougher on the road but we’ve just got to keep grinding.”

De’Andre Hunter made all six 3-pointers and scored 26 points for the Hawks. Trae Young had 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, but shot just 6 for 22.

After a slow start to the season, the Nets are finding a flow. They shot a franchise-record 65.3 percent in a 117-91 rout of Detroit on Sunday and followed that by making 22 3-pointers Wednesday, their most since hitting a franchise-best 27 last Feb. 15 at Sacramento.

Durant snapped a 75-all tie with a pair of free throws with 4:40 left in the third, then added another basket and a 3 for a seven-point lead.

Then, leading by four, the Nets scored the final 12 points of the third quarter. Durant finished that with a 3 just before the buzzer to send Brooklyn to the fourth with a 95-79 cushion.

“For me, you’re going to make shots, you’re going to miss shots, but it’s the quality of the looks and I thought we had a great stretch in the second half where we got a lot of quality looks,” coach Steve Nash said. (SD-Agencies)