The Brooklyn Nets pulled off a stunning 99-97 victory over the Houston Rockets, fueled by a late-game comeback and a strong performance from Keon Johnson. Coach Jordi Fernandez used Rockets coach Ime Udoka's pre-game comments dismissing the Nets as a 'lower-level team' as motivation for his players.
After Rockets coach Ime Udoka dismissively called the Nets a “lower-level team,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez made sure his players knew about it. Then those Nets did something about it, stunning the Rockets with a 99-97 victory before 16,564 at Barclays Center. Down 97-93 with 8.1 seconds remaining, Keon Johnson (team-high 22 points) drilled a 28-footer to pull Brooklyn within one. Then with Houston inbounding the ball, Amen Thompson threw a bad pass and the Nets stole it.
Tosan Evbuomwan got his long arms on it and tapped it out to D’Angelo Russell, who hit a huge 28-footer of his own with 3 seconds left in regulation to put the Nets ahead. Jalen Green’s miss at the buzzer sealed the comeback. It marked the Nets’ second win over the Rockets (32-18) in as many games after beating them Saturday in Houston.Wild details emerged in the DUI arrest of Michael Jordan's son Following that tilt, Udoka — who was a very real candidate for the Nets job in 2022, when Steve Nash got fired — called them a “lower-level team.”“When we walked in, Jordi showed us what Ime said night,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “They look at us like we’re not competition.”The Nets hadn’t won at Barclays Center since a Dec. 4 victory over Indiana. Now their next four games leading into the All-Star break are all at home, including games against fellow lottery hopefuls Washington and Charlotte. Alperen Sengun, who’d missed Monday’s game against the Knicks with a calf injury, found Green for a 3-pointer to leave the Nets down 40-36 with 2:45 in the half. Then they switched places, Green finding Sengun — who finished with 24 points and 20 rebounds — for a layup to build the deficit to 57-49 with 7:41 in the third.Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTBut Sengun put Houston back up 89-88 with a hook shot with 3 ½ minutes left, then powered inside to make it 92-88, flexing his muscles after drawing a foul on Ziaire Williams. Williams answered with a left-corner 3-pointer from Russell to make it 92-91 with 47.5 seconds to play. And Russell hit the ultimate winner in the waning seconds. Jalen Wilson looks to shoot over Amen Thompson during the first half of the Nets' 99-97 win over the Rockets on Feb. 4, 2025
NBA Brooklyn Nets Houston Rockets Ime Udoka Jordi Fernandez Keon Johnson D'angelo Russell Alperen Sengun Jalen Green
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