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There has been a ton of drama surrounding the Brooklyn Nets in recent weeks. The Kyrie Irving suspension. The Steve Nash firing. Questions surrounding Ben Simmons' commitment. Kevin Durant putting his teammates on blast as he doubled down on the reasons behind his trade request. But for at least one night, the Nets will be riding high in victory, and it's all thanks to unsung hero Royce O'Neale.
After Durant missed a free throw that would have put the Nets up by four against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers with mere seconds to go, KD ended up fouling Jusuf Nurkic on an and-one bucket, which the Bosnian center promptly converted to tie the game at 107. The Nets had a chance to take the lead with 6.5 seconds to go, and everyone in the building knew that the ball was headed to Durant's hands.
Kevin Durant was unable to shake off Jerami Grant completely, and he settled for an off-balance turnaround jumper over the Blazers forward's outstretched arms. The ball clanked off the front iron, bouncing at the right place at the right time for Royce O'Neale who tipped the ball into the hoop to give the Nets a 109-107 lead with 0.7 seconds left in the game.
Royce O'Neale with the TIP IN to give the Nets the lead with .7 seconds left 😱pic.twitter.com/f2lVnfQiB8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 18, 2022
And surely enough, NBA Twitter went wild, citing the shade Durant threw at the Nets starting lineup, O'Neale included after the do-it-all wing saved the 12-time All-Star from a disastrous crunch-time stretch despite KD's 35 points on the night to lead both teams in scoring.
Kevin Durant what in the world are you doing?? Royce O’Neale just bailed him out big time. Wildly dumb move here. pic.twitter.com/OkERfcCV7O
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) November 18, 2022
KD called Royce O’Neale a bum and he ended up saving him in the clutch 💀💀
— 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕠 〰️ (@MANOMAGlC) November 18, 2022
He got bailed out by Royce O’Neale(same dude that Kevin Durant basically called shit)
— Chris (@igetlotsofbread) November 18, 2022
ROYCE O'NEALE saved KD’s stupid ass
— you (@RalfyTurn2) November 18, 2022
How is Royce O’Neale supposed to win with Kevin Durant? Lol
— David Mendez-Yapkowitz (@Dave_Yapkowitz) November 18, 2022
Royce to kd in the locker room 😂 pic.twitter.com/oZkKcr5CkZ
— J (@jayfrombklny) November 18, 2022
With the game-winning tip-in, Royce O'Neale secured his first career triple-double, a beautiful 11/11/11 stat line to help lead the Nets to victory. Fans showed great appreciation for O'Neale, who is content with doing the little things that contribute to winning, including putting his body on the line and crashing the glass with reckless abandon leading to his game-winner.
Along with that game winner, Royce O'Neale messed around and got himself his first career triple-double 🔥
11 points
11 rebounds
11 assists https://t.co/6BFl9iZ95H pic.twitter.com/AeEuJwvrUj— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 18, 2022
Royce O’Neale is such a multifaceted role player. Good floor-spacer, good perimeter defender, can attack off the catch, good connective passer. Adds a ton of value alongside stars.
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) November 18, 2022
Big shout out to Royce 🔥
He's giving us everything he's got when he steps on the floor https://t.co/Pbs5v9eTeb— HakeemVBH (@IamCapitalC) November 18, 2022
Many were puzzled by the Nets' decision to fork over a first-rounder for O'Neale amid the Kevin Durant uncertainty over the offseason, but the 6'4 wing has clearly proven his worth as an invaluable glue guy despite the Nets' struggles. On the season, O'Neale is averaging 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 39.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc, and he's been one of the most reliable players in the Nets rotation to begin the year.
The Nets will want to bring these good vibes to their next game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night, where they're expected to welcome Kyrie Irving back into the mix.
