James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket against the Dallas Mavericks on December 7, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. Photo: VCG

James Harden and Kevin Durant led a late fightback as the Brooklyn Nets overturned a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to edge past the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

Harden and Durant combined for 47 points in a 102-99 road victory for Brooklyn, who lead the Eastern Conference with 17 wins against seven losses.

Brooklyn's victory was sealed by a devastating burst of scoring in the fourth quarter, with the Nets overwhelming Dallas 27-13.

Brooklyn took the lead for the first time in the game with a Harden free throw to make it 91-90 with six minutes 41 seconds remaining.

Dallas star Luka Doncic twice regained the lead for the Mavericks, but a 25-foot three-pointer from Patty Mills edged Brooklyn back in front at 98-97 with just under three minutes on the clock.

A Harden layup put Brooklyn 100-97 ahead and Durant's fadeaway completed the Nets' scoring.

The win at Dallas's American Airlines Center was vindication for Brooklyn coach Steve Nash, who left Harden and Durant on the court for over 41 minutes and 40 minutes respectively.

"I like to be on the court," Durant said afterward. 

"A game like tonight we were struggling a little bit and we needed a bit of juice going into the fourth quarter. 

"Coach kept me and James on the court to give us an extra push and it worked."

Dallas were left ruing their inability to strike from distance. 

Doncic led the Mavs ­scorers with 28 points, but Dallas paid the price for making just nine of 46 attempts from three-point range.

Elsewhere, RJ Barrett poured in 32 points and Mitchell Robinson added 11 points and 14 rebounds as the visiting New York Knicks knocked off the road-weary 

San Antonio Spurs 121-109 to snap a three-game losing streak.

The game was the second of a road-home back-to-back for the Spurs, who lost in Phoenix on Monday.

The Knicks led by six points at the half and stretched their advantage to 14 at the end of the third quarter with torrid three-point shooting and a domination of the glass.

Barrett carried New York in the first half, when he scored 19 points, and the Knicks collectively carted that momentum into the fourth quarter, when they fended off a tepid Spurs rally and pulled away late.

Alec Burks added 18 points for New York, with Immanuel Quickley hitting for 16, Julius Randle scoring 15 and Derrick Rose contributing 12.

Derrick White paced San Antonio with 26 points while Dejounte Murray had 15, Doug McDermott and Jakob Poeltl added 13 each and Bryn Forbes scored 12. Murray also chipped in seven rebounds and seven assists.