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D’Angelo Russell hits stunning game-winner, Brooklyn Nets defeat Houston Rockets again, 99-97

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Houston Rockets v Brooklyn Nets
Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

Ryan Ruocco shouted, “D’Angelo with some of that old Brooklyn Magic!” and Brooklyn’s tanking dreams took a death blow.

It’s a good thing the tank had already reached critical condition because Tuesday night it died in a blaze of glory that lasted six electrifying seconds.

For the first time since Thanksgiving, the Brooklyn Nets were riding a winning streak as they prepared to face an opponent. On Tuesday night at the Barclays Center, that opponent was the Houston Rockets, who the Nets had just defeated on Saturday night to secure that winning streak.

That was a win that Jordi Fernández’s team deserved, a 48-minute handling of the Western Conference’s three-seed, and it probably felt extra sweet after Rockets Head Coach Ime Udoka referred to the Nets as a “low-level team” following the game.

“When we walked in [to Monday’s practice], Jordi showed us what Ime said the other night. They look at us like we’re not competition,” said Day’Ron Sharpe before the rematch.

Udoka’s comments prove that there is difference between being incorrect (which he wasn’t) and wrong (which he was). Indeed, the Nets were 15-33 before their victory in Houston, but you don’t say that about a random, rebuilding opponent led by a rookie head coach.

So maybe it was a good night for many of Brooklyn’s NBA Draft Lottery dreams to die. A glimpse at the standings before Tuesday’s rematch…


…is a cruel dose of reality. Now four wins clear of the Charlotte Hornets — who are, partially due to injury, fielding a truly sub-NBA-level team — and five wins clear of the Utah Jazz, who have mastered the art of losing ballgames, top-three odds seem to be off the table for Brooklyn.

After General Manager Sean Marks went out of his way to short his Phoenix Suns stock, acquiring Brooklyn’s own pick back for the next two seasons, a mid-to-late lottery choice would be a disastrous result.

Alas, that is a worry for mid-May, and perhaps a worry that the lottery gods will extinguish. What is sports fandom if not hope spitting in the face of logic?

For now, it was time for Brooklyn’s players and coaches to sweep the irritating Houston Rockets (who lost to the New York Knicks on Monday night), and for fans to try and find meaning in it.

Brooklyn held up their end of the bargain, matching Houston’s energy once again in a low-scoring physical grind. While the Rockets (justifiably) looked like a team running on fumes, injured and trying to claw their way to the All-Star break, they did have All-Star Alperen Şengün back, who missed the matchup on Saturday as well as the loss to the Knicks on Monday.

That provided a test for Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe, who Fernández praised pregame: “They’ve been great. Our centers have to be the anchor of the defense, and those guys are doing a great job, especially because they’re guarding a lot of pick-and-roll. They have to be the first one to communicate, to communicate loud, to communicate early, and they’ve been really good. Their impact on the ball has been great, and that’s what we need from them.”

Despite Şengün’s return, that continued in Tuesday’s first half, which Houston won 46-44. Şengün shot just 1-of-5, and the Nets forced 11 turnovers which led directly to offense. While Şengün can really pass in the short-roll, Brooklyn continued to play aggressive coverages with both Clax and Sharpe, and it proved to be a shrewd decision…

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Şengün would eventually bully his way to a huge 24/20 stat-line, but he did not generate great offense for Houston, who shot just 41/34/67 on the night. While they did end up with with another boatload of second-chance points on Tuesday, that was partly because they again shot poorly.

Meanwhile, the Nets won the turnover battle and were far more effective in transition, shooting 46/37/77 overall.

Nic Claxton shot 7-of-10, putting together his third straight strong game on both ends of the floor…

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…while Keon Johnson led the Nets with 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting and no turnovers. Not only did he make three triples, but all of his shoot/pass/dribble decisions were appropriate, causing Houston’s defense real problems.

Postgame, Johnson said he wants to be “someone that you can trust with the ball in their hands, and also with the ball not in their hands, to make the right decisions and make open shots. I mean, each night, I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable with the different roles that I’m given on a nightly basis.”

On Tuesday, he was that player, and the Nets needed it as D’Angelo Russell shot just 2-of-14, riding the bench for a chunk of the fourth quarter.

The Nets needed one more offensive standout to stranglehold the lead as they’d done on Saturday, and Russell seemed like that missing piece. Even the bench did their part, as a lineup featuring Tosan Evbuomwan, who put up an efficient 14/4/4, Tyrese Martin, and Reece Beekman snagged a seven-point lead in the second half.

However, Brooklyn forfeited their lead thanks to a stalled offense, as it appeared their admirable efforts would be just that.

Then Houston’s armor started cracking. They made late-game decisions unbecoming of a team with championship aspirations…

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…only compounded by Brooklyn’s excellent hustle…

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Then, finally, the madness.

Down four with nine seconds left, a cross-court pass ended up in the hands of Keon Johnson, who looked like anything but a 29% 3-point shooter as he cashed a 24-footer to bring the Nets within one.

Then, Amen Thompson rushed to take the ball out of bounds, did not call Houston’s remaining timeout, and threw a bounce pass to nowhere. Tosan Evbuomwan back-tapped it to D’Angelo Russell, who — surprise! — did not shoot 2-of-14 on Tuesday.

It was actually 3-of-15, and that third make made up for every other miss, an electric game-winner that nearly blew the roof off of Barclays Center…

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His teammates chased him all up and down the court, and when the dust finally settled, Jalen Green missed his shot at glory. Nets win, and over 72 hours, sweep the season-series with Houston.

“First, shout out the coaches. The coaches, they were resilient. They didn’t panic under the pressure, all game,” said Russell in his on-court interview with YES Network’s Meghan Triplett.

He expanded on those comments postgame in an answer to an ND question:

“It’s an everyday thing. Honestly, I’ve been in different organizations. You could put this together and think I’m throwing shots at one or another, but I’m not. I just know there’s nothing really like the way they do it here. Even if I wasn’t here, I’d still say that. So for me to come back and be adopted into this environment, never take it for granted. I appreciate it and just giving the credit where it’s due.”

Perhaps that’s not such a small positive after all. Not when it comes with wins like Tuesday’s, which injected life into Brooklyn, and had the team and fans celebrating like they won a playoff series. Trivial in the grand scheme of things? I suppose so.

Whether or not D’Angelo Russell made or missed that shot, and got one more magical moment as a Net, hope would be all that’s left anyway. At least there’s some fun wins along the way.

“What a win…I have a head-high.” — Ziaire Williams

Final Score: Brooklyn Nets 99, Houston Rockets 97

Milestone Watch

  • Brooklyn is the only East team to defeat Houston twice this season, doing so in the span of four days.
  • For the third straight game, Brooklyn held their opponent under 100 points. It is the first time they’ve done so since November of the 2022-23 season, when they did so in five straight games. (Before that, their defense hadn’t accomplished the feat since January of 2018.)

Injury Report

Once again, all quiet on the injury front. Knock on wood.

Ben Simmons missed the game, yes, but because it was the first end of a back-to-back, Simmons is expected to play in Wednesday night’s home game.

D’Lo talks Barclays Center crowd

It will always be a question for the NBA’s most transient franchise. How’s the fanbase? How’s the home crowd, are they loud, are they engaged? Even when the team retired Vince Carter’s jersey this past month, Barclays Center had plenty of fans in Miami Heat jerseys cheering for Brooklyn’s opponent.

But when D’Angelo Russell hit the game-winner on Tuesday night, the fans went crazy. Sure, Alperen Şengün got some ‘M-V-P’ chants at the free throw line during the night, but damn if it wasn’t a fun atmosphere for a Nets victory.

Russell gave a refreshingly honest, but positive answer on Brooklyn’s home crowd in postgame: “I definitely think the fans here are underrated. So, they find a way to give you that feel of — they’re ready to just blow the roof off this place if you give them a reason.”

He continued: “That may be for the opposing team, they may give them that reason a lot of the time, or we can. For us to protect home court and have them react that way for our success, and not for somebody else coming in here making that shot or doing something, it’s a good feeling. It’s bringing me back. Like I said, I’ll never take that for granted.”

Next Up

Washington Wizards v Chicago Bulls
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets will have a real chance to win four in a row for the first time all season, as the second half of their back-to-back is a home contest against the lowly Washington Wizards. (Coming off a win, to be fair.) Tip-off is scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET.