The Houston Rockets came into Barclays Center ready to face the Brooklyn Nets. They fell short in their previous game versus the Memphis Grizzlies, so a win was on their mind. It was not just any win, though. They knew if they won this game, they could prevent Brooklyn from being atop the East. Although these two teams are not in the same conference, a victory would have been a huge confidence builder. In the end, H-town would be close, but no cigar.
Houston got in the zone early as they took a 9-2 lead right out the gate. After having played 5 minutes, Brooklyn found themselves in an 18 point hole. They showed no signs of stopping Houston in the first quarter. Houston was shooting 75% from the field with the help of Danuel House Jr, who had 12 points. On the other hand, Brooklyn was shooting a grim 43%. It was a 42-29 game going into the second.
To start the second quarter, Houston had no plans of taking their foot off the gas. They went on a 7-0 run, and their lead blew to 17. Brooklyn tried to come back, but every time they scored, Houston had an answer. The closest that Brooklyn was able to get was 11. Bruce Brown was sent to the line and knocked in both his free-throws. That would do it for the first half. Houston led 68-57 at the break.
Brooklyn came out of the locker room with a vengeance. They paid Houston back from the first quarter by going on their own 9-2 run. It was a 9-point game a little past the midway mark in the third. Joe Harris’ three-pointer with just about 3 minutes remaining made it a 1-point game. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot gave his team their first lead of the game. That would only last for a second, though, before Houston responded with a layup. Heading into the fourth quarter, the score was 87-86.
Houston reached triple-digit points at the 7:28 mark in the fourth. Despite that, back-to-back three-pointers by Griffin and Harris allowed Brooklyn to take a 4 point lead. Once Brooklyn took that advantage, they never looked back. After being down by as many as 18 points, Kyrie Irving and company came back to win it. Another three-pointer by Harris put the icing on the cake. Brooklyn beat Houston in a come-from-behind victory 120-105.
For the first time since 2003, they stole possession of 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Irving led the team with 31 points. However, Harris was not too far behind him with 28 points. The “Jr’’ duo were the silver linings for Houston. Kevin Porter Jr carried the team with 20 points, and House Jr knocked down 18.
On what it meant to be leading the conference, Irving put it all in perspective.
“I think we’ve been able to learn throughout this process what it takes to build something special,” he said. “On top of that, we learned much sacrifice it takes to do your job at a very high level.”
Up Next:
Brooklyn will host the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, April 1st at 7:30pm.
Houston will travel to Boston to face the Celtics on Friday, April 2nd at 7:30pm.
