Most players just want to get their last game before the All-Star break over with so they can hop on a flight to Cancun for a few days. Unfortunately for the Nets and the Cavs, the basketball Gods had no intention of allowing that to happen. The two teams dueled in a triple overtime thriller on Galentine’s day, where D’Angelo Russell single handedly concluded the game in the third additional period.
The game had plenty of excitement leading up to the third overtime. Joe Harris was on fire, en route to his first career back-to-back 20 point performances. Harris went 9/12 from the field, including 4/5 from beyond the arc. These performances are to be expected now in the midsts of Harris’ ridiculous season.
For most of the game it appeared the Nets were going to drop their second bad loss in the week leading up to the All-Star break. However, the game was tied after three quarters before the two teams each scored 25 in the fourth. Russell scored on a driving layup with a minute left in regulation to tie the game before both teams missed multiple chances to win the game.
Then we headed to overtime.
“D’ANGELO RUSSELL IS NOT HUMAN!”
Ian Eagle is a national treasure. The Nets play-by-play announcer exclaimed this assertion about Russell following a made three-point attempt late in the third overtime that essentially iced the game.
The outburst was the result of Russell’s entire play during the overtimes. Russell scored 24 of his 36 points in the three overtimes periods, going 8/12 from the field, 3/6 from three, and 5/6 from the line. In the third overtime specifically, Russell couldn’t miss, literally. He scored 14 points in the period, going 6/6 from the field and 2/2 from distance.
Among his free throws in the overtimes were two makes with 16 seconds left in the first overtime to give the Nets a two point lead, as well as two free throws with 1:18 remaining in the second overtime to keep the game at a one point lead.
In the third overtime, Russell time and again got to his spot and took the shot he wanted. The Cleveland defense almost administered no resistance whatsoever.
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Russell is simply too good in all those scenarios for the Cleveland defense to play so timid. According to Synergy data, Russell ranks in the 82nd percentile on runners, and in the 74th percentile when he dribbles into a jump shot as the pick and roll ball handler. Russell is also shooting a Chris Paulian 53.6% on 10′-16′ mid-range shots this season.
Then, with less than a minute remaining and holding a four point lead, Russell hit the three that invoked Eagle’s exclamation.
DeMarre Carroll
The Herculean triple overtime effort by Russell never would have been possible without DeMarre Carroll. At the end of the second overtime, Brooklyn found itself down three with 3.8 seconds remaining. Inbounding in the front court, the ball was passed to Carroll. It appears as if the play design completely failed. Fortuitously, in middle of all the off-ball action, Cleveland lost track of the guy with the ball. Carroll calmly dribbled out behind the arc, and drilled a game tying shot as the buzzer went off.
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Carroll’s clutch performance did not end there. While Russell may have put the game out of reach with his final three-pointer, Carroll slammed the door shut on any potential comeback.
In the final 24 seconds, Carroll went 4/4 from the free throw line, first extending a five point lead to a seven point lead, and finally pushing a seven point lead to a nine point lead with 10 seconds left, which proved to be the final margin of victory.
Brooklyn avoided a second loss in five days to a Zion Williamson contender. Perhaps by the third overtime the Cavs just wanted to get on their plane to Cancun more so than the Nets did. Regardless, Carroll’s clutch 7 points, along with Russell’s preposterous third overtime period, kept the Nets above .500 ahead of the All-Star break.
