Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from unlikely, wild, crazy win at Houston
By Phil Watson
A. 35 MIN, 22 PTS, 6-for-13 (4-for-6), 6-for-7 FT, 5 REB (3 ORB), 1 AST, 2 PF, +4. SF. Brooklyn Nets. DEMARRE CARROLL
DeMarre Carroll bounced back from a frigid 2-for-15 shooting performance against the Boston Celtics on Monday to score a season-high 22 points against the Houston Rockets, for whom he played briefly early in his career.
Carroll has a habit of firing up against teams he used to play for, previously victimizing the Memphis Grizzlies twice, as well as the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors in recent games.
But Carroll’s biggest contribution may have been his defensive work to close out the game against James Harden.
Carroll’s ball denial and pressure kept Harden from attempting a shot over the final 1:58 of overtime — perhaps the longest Harden’s gone without taking a shot since he got to Houston from Oklahoma City in 2012.
He also played big on the offensive glass and got to the foul line regularly. Just a very solid night for the veteran.
Brooklyn Nets. SPENCER DINWIDDIE. A-. 32 MIN, 33 PTS, 13-for-22 (4-for-8), 3-for-4 FT, 2 REB, 10 AST, 4 PF, 4 TO, +5. PG/SG
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and seven in overtime — including the go-ahead three-point play with 28 seconds remaining.
He got off to a slow start, but kicked himself into gear with a full-court fast break after a Houston make midway through the fourth quarter, then went full cheat mode to end regulation, scoring 18 points in the final 6:29 of the game.
He had 11 points in the last 1:29 of regulation, including three consecutive 3-pointers — the last of which tied the game with 8.4 seconds to go.
Dinwiddie did some different things as he got his driving mojo back, throwing in a Euro step at times rather than his typical straight-line runs to the rack.
After a rough nine-game stretch in which he averaged less than 11 points a game, the Nets loved seeing Dinwiddie get back on track.