Happy Trails!
Russell closes strong as Nets rally past Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. — As soon as the schedule was released, the Nets’ Allen Crabbe made a mental note of Friday’s game, aiming to beat the Trail Blazers team that had traded him away. Crabbe got his victory, thanks to a great fiveminute run in the third quarter and D’Angelo Russell playing closer in the fourth.
The short-handed Nets rallied to a come-from-behind 101-97 victory over the Blazers before 19,393 at the Moda Center, a win that salvaged this western swing.
The Nets ran off 17 unanswered points in 5:31, turning a 10-point deficit into a seven-point lead with 2:22 left in the third quarter. And even with the Nets down 95-94 late, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gave them a lead and Russell closed it out with 11 of his 21 points in the final 5:04.
“We’ve just got to compete consistently. We’ve got to just keep getting after it,” coach Kenny Atkinson said before the game. “They’re going to hit some tough shots, that’s what they do. We’re going to have to keep our heads up and defend again, and then do it again.
“It comes down to how many times can we do it, how many times can we force them into tough shots. ... We’re going to have to be physical, have a road mentality and get some hits, get some rebounds.”
DeMarre Carroll — who started at small forward, but was forced to play some power forward because of their raft of frontcourt injuries — had 16 points. And Crabbe had 12 points in his first game in Portland since the Blazers traded him to the Nets in a salary dump.
“Yeah, I [was] a little more excited. After I got traded and the schedule came out, this is the first game that I looked for,” Crabbe acknowledged. “It’s no negatives, it was a good time here. But it’s fun playing against old teammates and coaching staff.”
Playing without big men Jarrett Allen, Tyler Zeller and Trevor Booker, the Nets saw Portland center Jusuf Nurkic punish them with 21 points in 25 minutes. But they survived to improve to 5-7 and will close out their road trip Saturday night in Utah.
Brooklyn trailed 65-55 after a pair of free throws by C.J. McCollum (17 points), but ran off 17 unanswered points. Consecutive baskets by Crabbe got them within six, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Quincy Acy and Carroll knotted it.
Russell, who had nine assists, found Carroll for a dunk that gave Brooklyn a 67-65 lead. Acy’s free throws made it four, and after Carroll drew a charge on Pat Connaughton, Spencer Dinwiddie drilled a deep 3-pointer to pad the cushion to 72-65.
Portland stormed back with a 24-12 run. Evan Turner gave the Blazers an 86-84 lead, and McCollum’s 3-pointer extended the lead to five, and pushed the Nets into a timeout.
Whatever Atkinson said worked, with Russell scoring the final six points of an 8-0 run for a 92-89 edge.
The Nets led 96-95 when Damian Lillard (19 points) lost his handle on a drive, Hollis-Jefferson collected the loose ball and called a timeout with 41.1 seconds left. Russell drilled a huge pull-up jumper to put the Nets ahead by three.
After McCollum cut it to one, Russell cleared out and drove, getting the basket and the foul. He missed the free throw, but followed his own shot, got the offensive board and got fouled again. He made one of two free throws to put Brooklyn ahead 101-97 with 8.1 seconds remaining, sealing the game.