Following a Dillon Brooks free throw, Houston was up four in Brooklyn with 9.5 seconds left — just defend a little, don’t turn the ball over and it should be another Rockets win.
Then Keon Johnson and D’Angelo Russell happened.
LATE-GAME HEROICS IN BROOKLYN 🤯🤯
— NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2025
BACK-TO-BACK 3PM FROM KEON & DLO GIVE THE NETS THE VICTORY!! pic.twitter.com/tO8ahx3D1A
For Houston, that’s the young Amen Thompson learning a hard lesson about taking care of the ball late. Jalen Green missed a deep 3 at the buzzer trying to win the game for the Rockets.
Johnson led the Nets with 22 points in a low-scoring contest, hitting three 3-pointers along the way.
Alperen Sengun returned to action with 24 points and 20 rebounds — looking every bit the All-Star — for Houston. If the Rockets want to look at when they lost the game, it was less the final seconds and more the 14-0 Brooklyn run in the third quarter that changed everything. On the bright side for Houston, rookie Reed Sheppard had 16 off the bench.
