Subscribe
Follow Us
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka referred to the Brooklyn Nets as a “low-level team” after Saturday's loss in Houston. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez made sure his players knew it ahead of Tuesday's rematch at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn responded by stunning Houston for the second time in four nights. Trailing 97-93 with 8.1 seconds remaining, Keon Johnson drained a three to pull the Nets within one. Amen Thompson threw a bad pass on the ensuing inbound, and the ball found its way to D'Angelo Russell, who drained another triple to give Brooklyn the lead with three seconds remaining.
After the Rockets called timeout, Jalen Green missed a three at the buzzer to seal a 99-97 Nets win, their third-straight.
“First, shout out the coaches. The coaches, they were resilient. They didn’t panic under the pressure all game,” Russell said in his on-court interview with YES Network’s Meghan Triplett.
“I made the shot, but I think it goes up to the group, like I said, how resilient the group was,” he later continued. “The players obviously, Keon, but Ziaire [Williams], Nic [Claxton], all those guys, I could name the whole team, they came in and played a part. And that's a credit to the coaches. They keep you prepared every day. Off-day, on-day, film, travel day, you're on. There's no off, so when you get to the game, there's no excuse to be off. And everybody comes in and delivers what they're supposed to do. You know, I just made the shot, but credit to everybody who was a part of it.”
Don't look, Rockets fans… pic.twitter.com/JMzPOaMlOq
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 5, 2025
Russell struggled for most of the game, shooting 3-of-15, but redeemed himself with his game-winner. Johnson finished with a team-high 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
Nets stun Rockets at buzzer for second straight upset win
For the second straight game, the Nets' defense overwhelmed the Rockets' 10th-ranked offense. Fernandez's squad held Houston to 34-of-83 (41 percent) shooting and forced 16 turnovers.
Fernandez declined to comment on Udoka's comments pregame, but Johnson said they were all the motivation Brooklyn needed.
“Everybody took it personally,” the Nets guard said following the win. “Just because we come in every day and compete, not even just against other teams, but we compete to our fullest against each other. So, just to read something like that, it was just a lot of fuel to the fire.”
Keon Johnson said Ime Udoka referring to the Nets as a "low-level team" definitely motivated the group:
"Everybody took it personal, just because we come in every day and compete… Just to read something like that, it was just a lot of fuel on the fire." pic.twitter.com/tQa9oXLFj5
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 5, 2025
After a rough start to the season, Nic Claxton continued an encouraging stretch during Tuesday's win. The sixth-year center posted 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting with four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He held Rockets star Alperen Sengun in check for most of the game.
“Euphoria. It caught me off guard,” Claxton said of the Nets' come-from-behind sequence in the final seconds. “But we just stuck with it. We stayed positive throughout the whole game, even though we were down. We just stayed together, and we got the win. It was a good feeling.”
While Brooklyn's players rejoiced following the comeback victory, the team continues to lose ground in the tank race for Cooper Flagg. Before their three-game win streak, a 2-15 stretch had pulled the Nets within two games of third place in the lottery standings, where they would share equal odds with the top two teams for the No. 1 pick.
With Tuesday's victory, Brooklyn fell to sixth, 3.5 games behind the Charlotte Hornets for fourth and five behind the New Orleans Pelicans for third. While many presumed the Nets would be at the front of the tank race this season, it's looking increasingly likely that they will finish fifth or worse in the lottery odds.
