Brooklyn extended the Barclays Center stay for fans and nearly came away with the upset of Boston.
The Brooklyn Nets walked in as an eight-point underdog. They ended up putting a late scare on the Boston Celtics -- by stretching to double overtime.
The effort couldn't topple the visitors, though, as Boston escaped 130-126 on Friday night inside Barclays Center.
Hugo Gonzalez hit a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left that tied the game up and eventually forced the second overtime period. And Gonzalez nailed the basket off a no-look pass via Baylor Scheierman.
Michael Porter Jr. earned one final chance to give the Nets the win on the next possession. But his 33-foot three-point attempt misfired, sending the game into the next OT.
Brooklyn never led from there. They managed to tie the game once and then came within two late in the second extra period. Noah Clowney, however, missed on a 25-foot running jump shot with 1:05 left. Payton Pritchard turned the botched three into a driving layup off the assist via Jaylen Brown.
The Nets still received opportunities to make one last rally. Amari Williams, however, blocked a layup attempt by rookie Nolan Traore with 40.6 seconds left. Porter Jr. later missed one last three -- this one at the 8.5-second mark that would've been a 24-footer sinking into the hoop.
Nic Claxton emerged as the player responsible for forcing the first overtime -- by getting a tip in dunk inside the net to tie things up at 104. Brooklyn even erased a late nine-point deficit to go on a 10-1 run in closing out the fourth quarter.
Boston, however, outscored the Nets a combined 26-22 in both OT periods to avoid the upset.
Brooklyn only hit 30% of its long-range baskets. The Nets ended the night reaching 44% of their shots. Brooklyn managed to out-rebound Boston 58-41 on the evening, plus beat Boston in fast break points by 16-11.
The home team struggled to take care of the basketball, however, in creating 18 turnovers. Boston evened things out in the paint with 52 points in the key.
Porter ended with a team-high 30 points in 42 minutes. Traore dropped a new career-high 21 points in reserve duty through 37 minutes of play. Claxton ended with 18 points and became one rebound shy of a double-double.
Clowney delivered 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Ziaire Williams reached double figures as well in hitting 14 points. Cam Thomas ended with seven points.
Brooklyn has dropped its last four games as well as nine of the last 10.
Join the Community! Don't miss out on our NETS ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news! It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected.