On the street in opposition to the most effective groups in basketball Saturday, the Nets dominated Houston 110-98 for his or her most spectacular rout of the season.
Brooklyn has adopted their season-worst seven-game dropping skid with their first profitable streak since Nov. 24-27.
However although Wednesday’s victory was in opposition to a decimated Charlotte squad, Saturday’s came to visit a dominant Rockets one. The Nets lead by as a lot as 22 in opposition to a top-four group within the league.
“We tried to hit first. Any likelihood we acquired, we knew they had been going to attempt to hit first. And I feel it was contagious from the primary group to the second group, and we simply took all of it the way in which right down to the total recreation,” D’Angelo Russell mentioned.
“All people’s on the market enjoying as laborious as they will. Shout-out to the coaches for getting us in that mentality and creating that surroundings. On our apply days, we work laborious, on our off days we work laborious. So on recreation days, shoot, we have now no alternative however to work laborious.”
Russell guided a Nets assault that put six scorers in double figures, however they gained this with ball stress and shifts.
“We made that paint look crowded,” coach Jordi Fernandez mentioned. “Our guys had been simply centered, they had been organized. … We didn’t flip it over. So the main focus was there. The enjoying laborious was there. And that’s the way you win video games on this league.”
Now the Nets come dwelling for a six-game homestand, beginning Tuesday in opposition to this similar Rockets group that’s positive to be salty.
Brooklyn allowed simply 40 p.c taking pictures and 12-for-39 (31 p.c) from deep. That permit them get into early offense.
Ziaire Williams had 21 factors, eight rebounds, three blocks and a late dagger 3 to make it 99-86 with 1:31 left.
Russell scored 18 factors whereas Nic Claxton added 17 and 5 boards.
“Simply beginning the sport intense, understanding they had been going to return out making an attempt to play bodily,” Jalen Wilson mentioned. “We simply needed to match that from the start of the sport and set the tone that we’re right here to play bodily your entire recreation.”
They did simply that.
Brooklyn (16-33) is a half-game behind Toronto for fifth within the lottery odds.
Jalen Inexperienced had 29 factors for Houston, which performed with out Alperen Sengun and misplaced Fred VanVleet throughout the recreation.
The Nets — enjoying with out Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and Noah Clowney —seized the lead with a 15-5 first-quarter run and by no means gave it up. They led for the ultimate 36 minutes, and by double digits for the ultimate 25.
The Nets trailed 18-17 earlier than they went on the blitz, Day’Ron Sharpe (13 factors) capping the run with a layup that made it 32-23 with 8:55 left within the half.
Brooklyn blew it open with a 15-6 run over 5 ¹/₂ minutes within the third.
Main 68-55 with 5:44 within the interval, Tosan Evbuomwan’s layup with 3.7 seconds left put the Nets up 83-61. The fourth was rubbish time.