HEARTBREAKING DEFEAT
Houston Rockets collapse as Nets steal victory in final seconds
Feb 4, 2025, 10:02 pm
Nets defeat the Rockets, 99-97. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.
Keon Johnson and D'Angelo Russell made 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds, and the Brooklyn Nets stunned the Houston Rockets 99-97 on Tuesday night for their first home victory in two months.
LATE-GAME HEROICS IN BROOKLYN 🤯🤯
BACK-TO-BACK 3PM FROM KEON & DLO GIVE THE NETS THE VICTORY!! pic.twitter.com/tO8ahx3D1A
— NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2025
Brooklyn trailed 97-93 when Tosan Evbuomwan inbounded the ball to Johnson, who made a 3 from the wing with 8.1 seconds left. Houston's Amen Thompson then threw an inbounds pass that skipped past Dillon Brooks, and Evbuomwan tipped it to Russell, who buried a 3 to put the Nets ahead with 3.4 seconds remaining.
Jalen Green missed a deep 3 at the buzzer for the Rockets as Brooklyn (17-33) ended its 11-game skid at Barclays Center.
Johnson scored 22 points, and Evbuomwan and Nic Claxton each scored 14. Russell had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Alperen Sengun had 24 points and 20 rebounds while Reed Sheppard and Brooks each finished with 16 for the Rockets (32-18), who have lost four straight — two to Brooklyn — since a four-game winning streak that included two wins over Cleveland and one against Boston.
Takeaways
Rockets: Thompson was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for January. Thompson, who on Tuesday was selected to the NBA Rising Stars Challenge, averaged 1.4 blocks and 2.2 steals over 12 games last month, the only player to average at least two steals and one block during that time.
Nets: Brooklyn swept the season series from the Rockets for the first time since 2022-23.
Key moment
The Nets were down by nine points midway through the third quarter and responded with a 14-0 run in which Claxton and Tyrese Martin did all the scoring.
Key stat
Brooklyn’s last victory at Barclays Center was on Dec. 4 against Indiana.
Up next
Brooklyn continues its six-game homestand Wednesday against Washington. Houston visits Minnesota on Thursday.
Astros GM Dana Brown spoke with the media on Tuesday and shared some surprising updates about some of the club's key players.
Firstly, Brown spoke about Alex Bregman as if he's no longer in Houston's plans. Which shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering the moves Houston made to replace Breggy and Tucker.
It feels like any hope for Alex's return to Houston is coming from agent Scott Boras looking to use the 'Stros as leverage.
Yet, with Bregman unlikely to return, the team is still looking to play Jose Altuve in left field. Moving Altuve to left made some sense if they were doing it to accommodate Bregman, but reports suggest Houston would have done the same thing had they signed Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco, who has defensive issues of his own.
It sounds strange, but Brown made a point of saying Altuve looked good in left field. One has to wonder if another move is coming, or if Mauricio Dubon plays second base when Houston's top ground ball pitchers (Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown) make their starts.
Health updates
Brown shared optimism about the return of Lance McCullers, who is currently throwing off a mound and reaching 90mph. As much as we would love to see McCullers return, it's hard for many to get too excited after a few positive throwing sessions. But hey, never say never. They could certainly use him.
It was also revealed at the presser that Luis Garcia is throwing on flat ground with no issues. While that is good news, we expected Garcia would be further along in his recovery. Pitchers and catchers report in about a week, and he's still not throwing off a mound. Hopefully that changes sooner rather than later.
Don't miss the video above as ESPN Houston's John Granato and Lance Zierlein try to make sense out of the latest updates from the Astros, and much more!