RUSSELL’S A REAL BUZZKILL!
Nets hang on to sting Hornets behind D’Angelo’s 40
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Six days after his first All-Star appearance, D’Angelo Russell believes his confidence is at an all-time high.
“For sure, because I feel like when you have that All-Star badge, you have to be aggressive,” Russell said. “Teams expect it already, they game plan for you and they are trying to stop you — and I feel like I can’t be stopped.”
Russell cele- brated his 23rd birthday by tying a career high with 40 points, making some huge shots down the stretch to lead the Nets to an important 117-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
The victory kept the Nets alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and gives them 2-1 edge in the series entering Friday night’s game in Brooklyn.
Russell called it a “mustwin game.”
The big effort came on the same floor where Russell played in the All-Star Game last Sunday night.
Russell made 14 of 31 shots from the field with six 3pointers to go along with seven assists. The Nets repeatedly turned to him to make plays, setting screens to free him up on drives and long jumpers. On several occasions, the Hornets were caught in a switch on the pickand-roll and Russell buried jumpers over Charlotte’s big men. “We just jumped on his back,” said Nets guard Joe Harris. “He carried us offensively and made some huge plays.”
The Hornets — and their fans — left the arena upset at the way the game ended.
After Russell knocked down a fade-away jumper from 15 feet, and then buried a long 3-pointer from the top of the key with 39 seconds left to give the Nets the lead, the Hornets had a chance to win the game on the final possession.
However, Caris LeVert blocked Kemba Walker’s 3point shot as time expired on a bang-bang play. Hornets players threw their arms up in the air looking for a call, thinking LeVert had fouled Walker as the ball bounced harmlessly to the sideline. Walker, a threetime All-Star, sat on the floor in utter disbelief at the no-call with his hands raised to the sky.
The crowd booed as the officials gathered their coats and walked off the floor.