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.
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.”
Fernandez used it as bulletin board material, and motivational fodder.
“When we walked in, Jordi showed us what Ime said [Saturday] night,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “They look at us like we’re not competition.”
The Nets (17-33) were competition on Tuesday.
Brooklyn finally snapped an 11-game home losing skid.
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.
The Nets responded with 14 unanswered points to seize the lead.
Claxton capped the blitz on a jumper with 4:22 left in the third, putting Brooklyn ahead 63-57.
The Nets held the Rockets to four straight misses and a couple of turnovers during the run,
But 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.
