Russell scores 29 as Nets beat Celtics to snap two-game losing streak
Nets guard D'Angelo Russell (1) goes to the basket against Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III (44) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on March 30, 2019, in New York. Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
Before the Celtics took on the Nets on Saturday night at Barclays Center, Boston coach Brad Stevens noted that his team previously had trouble controlling Nets All-Star D’Angelo Russell in the third quarter. He could not have been more prophetic. Russell scored 20 of his 29 points in the third to turn a tight game into a comfortable 110-96 victory.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Nets (39-38), marked their fourth straight win at home and kept them seventh in the Eastern Conference.
Holding a one-point halftime lead, the Nets needed an offensive spark to break it open.
They got it from Russell, who opened the third quarter with a three-pointer and proceeded to hit three more and score all 20 of his points during a 27-9 run that gave the Nets their biggest lead at 76-57. He shot 8-for-12, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, in that span.
“I thought right out of the gate we didn’t guard D’Angelo Russell with the intensity you need to stop him from getting a rhythm,” Stevens said. “Once he got going, he put our bigs in a bad spot because you’re either going to come up and give up those lobs like we did the rest of the game to Jarrett Allen, or he’s going to make it. D’Angelo did a great job. Hats off to them.”
At halftime, the Nets knew they had to limit turnovers and generate transition offense. Once he hit a couple of early threes, Russell was off and firing.
“I know when we get stops and we get out running, we’re a fun team,” Russell said. “J.A. coming over and blocking shots, guards being back and getting a good box-out, and then we’re rebounding, we’re running. We’re an exciting team . . . I just wanted to take it over at the start of the third.”
Russell scored 14 of the Nets’ final 17 points in that stretch. His final two baskets were a fast-break three-pointer — Joe Harris pitched the ball back to him wide-open on the left side of the arc — and a high-arching rainbow floater that dropped through for a 19-point lead.
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson stuck with his usual rotation and pulled Russell with 4:15 left in the period and the Nets holding an 18-point lead. It shrank to 12 by the end of the period. Did Atkinson consider leaving Russell in when he was on a roll?
“That’s always a tough one,” he said. “On the West Coast, I had regrets that I left him out there for stretches too long. I thought, this game is going to come down to the wire and we need to keep him fresh.”
The Celtics cut their deficit to 10 by the time Russell returned with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter. This time he lit it up with his playmaking. During a 12-6 burst, Russell threw a lob pass to Harris (13 points) for a pretty alley-oop layup and found Caris LeVert (15 points, four steals) with a pocket pass in the paint for another easy layup that expanded the Nets’ lead to 100-84 with 6:48 left.
“You get to scoring in this league, and teams try to switch up the defensive schemes,” Russell said. “I tried to switch up as soon as I saw their switch-up and capitalize with passing.”
The Nets caught a break when the Celtics rested stars Kyrie Irving and Al Horford in the second of a back-to-back. They were topped by Gordon Hayward’s 19 points.
“This was a must-win,” Jared Dudley said. “We knew Horford and Kyrie were not playing . . . DLo got hot and that’s why he’s been an All-Star. That’s why he’s been carrying us for a large part of this time.”
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
