The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 148-139 in triple OT. What a game. This game was absolutely absurd from start to finish. Both teams looked like they were going to lose several times, and then were resurged. The Nets desperately needed this win, and it took everything they had to get it. The game started out and once again Joe Harris caught fire in the first quarter. Harris hit his first 3 three’s and then Allen Crabbe added some threes at the end of the quarter, as the Nets outscored Cleveland 30-29. The Nets had a very slow start to the second quarter, as Cleveland took a double digit lead. Jordan Clarkson was torching the Nets, and Brooklyn had no answer for him. The Nets were outscored by 4 in the second quarter, and went into halftime down three. Once again the Nets started out slow to kick off the third quarter, and then picked it up as the quarter went along. The Nets outscored the Cavs 29-26 in the 3rd quarter, and things were all tied 84 heading to the fourth. Things were still tied at 109 with 1:01 to go. Caris LeVert missed a potential game winning three, and the two teams headed to overtime. The Nets looked like they had pulled out a 118-116 win in OT before Collin Sexton drove past Allen Crabbe to sent the game into double OT. Jordan Clarkson made two free throws to put the Cavs up by 3 with 3.8 seconds to go in double OT, but the Nets weren’t ready to go home just yet. DeMarre Carroll hit an improbable step back three as the buzzer went off to send the game into a third overtime. Carroll hit one of the most important shots of the Nets season so far. Triple OT was the D’Angelo Russell show. Russell scored 14 points on 6-6 shooting in triple OT to guide the Nets to a victory. The Nets ended up winning by 9, but in no way possible was this a 9 point game. Both teams gave it their all, and the Nets came out victorious. The Nets head into the all star break 1 game over .500 at 30-29 and are in control of the 6th seed in the eastern conference. The Nets had a great “first half” but will he challenged after the break. This Nets team is resilient, and they will have to be in their playoff push.

D’Angelo Russell led the Nets offensively with 36 points 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Russell was quiet for most of the game, but then went off in overtime. As mentioned before, Russell scored 14 points in triple OT alone to lead the Nets to victory. Joe Harris was also a major contributor, finishing with 25 points on 9-12 shooting. Harris has been on fire from three these past two game, and it continued tonight as he shot 4-5 from deep. DeMarre Carroll was huge off the bench finishing with 18 points 7 rebounds, and also hitting the most clutch shot of the game to send it into triple OT. RHJ stepped up in the absence of Kurucs and Graham, finishing with 17 points on 7-10 shooting. Lastly, Jarrett Allen (10 points and 12 rebounds) and Caris LeVert (12 points 9 assists 7 rebounds) were factors in the Nets win.

The Cavaliers were led by the ex teammate of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson finished with 42 points and 8 rebounds on 16-34 shooting. Clarkson seemingly could not miss during certain pivotal parts of the game, and carried the Cavs offensively the entire night. The newly acquired big man Marquise Chriss also had a good game, finishing with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Rookie Collin Sexton was also a contributor, recording 24 points on 10-22 shooting. This was a tough loss for the Cavs, as they should have won the game at multiple points. In theory this was actually the perfect game for this Cavs team, as they showed they have talent while keeping their top 5 lottery pick. This was exactly the performance that the Cavs front office wanted to see.

What’s Next?

Both teams will take 8 days off and head into the all star break. Look for Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurcus in the rising stars game, Joe Harris in the three point contest, and Dlo in the all star game.

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