Houston Rockets @ Brooklyn Nets
Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 6:00 PM ET
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY | Game ID: 22300645
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BKN 35 25 28 18 106HOU 15 25 30 34 104
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Cam Thomas scores 37 points, Nets hold off Rockets 106-104
NEW YORK -- — Cam Thomas scored 37 points and the Brooklyn Nets outlasted the Houston Rockets 106-104 on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Nets led by 28 points in the second quarter, with the Rockets rallying in the fourth quarter to cut it to one with seven seconds left.
Brooklyn was outscored 34-18 in the final period and committed seven turnovers, but remained composed following a fourth-quarter meltdown Sunday in Los Angeles when the Clippers scored 22 straight points to steal a victory.
Thomas, who shot 11 for 19 from the field and made 12 of 13 free throws, found some positives despite the near meltdown.
“We just got to stay locked in and try to put teams away early instead of giving away some possessions,” Thomas said. “It is definitely a positive that if we come out like we did, come out aggressive, fast, defend really well, that’s what can happen against any team we play.”
Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith each had 19 points, and Nic Claxton added 10 points and 13 rebounds for Brooklyn. The Nets never trailed.
“We just relaxed and they came out and played harder than us,” Bridges said.
Finney-Smith, who shot 7 for 12 from the field, including 4 for 8 from the 3-point line, left because of a sore left ankle in the third quarter and did not return.
Jalen Green , Dillon Brooks and Cam Whitmore each had 19 points for the Rockets, who were on the backend of a back-to-back and have lost seven of 10 games.
“We just could have played hard from the start, we can’t be lackadaisical from the start,” Whitmore said.
Brooklyn appeared to have sealed it after a Dennis Smith Jr .’s free throw extended the lead to 107-97 with 19 seconds.
Sengun was fouled under the basket and converted both shots and Amen Thompson stole Royce O’Neal’s inbound pass and hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 103-102.
Thomas then made a pair of free throws and VanVleet was fouled on the ensuing possession, making one free throw to cut it to 105-102.
Segun made it 105-104 after he was fouled while trying to recover the ball after VanVleet missed a free throw. Dinwiddie was fouled on the inbound play and made one free throw.
“We’ve been in these close games and I never looked at it as a negative,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BKNCT C. Thomas
DF D. Finney-Smith
DS D. Smith Jr.
LW L. Walker IV
MB M. Bridges
NC N. Claxton
RO R. O'Neale
SD S. Dinwiddie
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
CW C. Whitmore
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JL J. Landale
JT J. Tate
JG Ja. Green
BKN/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur