Brooklyn Nets: 3 takeaways from 3OT victory at Cleveland
By Phil Watson
1. Getting the history straight
The Brooklyn Nets set a franchise record on Wednesday night, with their 148 points in their triple-overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers the most the team has ever scored in a road game since joining the NBA in 1976.
That broke the mark of 147 originally set by the New Jersey Nets in a 15-point victory over the Detroit Pistons at Pontiac, Mich., on April 17, 1982.
It was also their highest-scoring game of the season, topping the 145 points Brooklyn had in its overtime road victory over the Houston Rockets on Jan. 16.
The three overtimes matched the second-longest NBA game the Nets have ever played and was their seventh triple-overtime game since they came to the NBA.
The longest game in the franchise’s NBA history was a 150-147 loss in quadruple-overtime to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 1, 1987.
In the franchise’s nine seasons in the American Basketball Association from 1967-76, the Nets played one four-overtime game and one game that went three OTs.
The New York Nets lost to the San Diego Conquistadors 176-166 in four overtimes on Feb. 14, 1975, and beat the New Orleans Buccaneers in a triple-overtime affair, 132-127, on Jan. 10, 1969.
It was the third triple-overtime game in the Brooklyn era and first since a 129-127 win at Barclays Center over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 20, 2015. The Nets and Bucks also went three overtimes at Brooklyn on Nov. 19, 2014, a 122-118 Milwaukee victory.
The complete list of three-overtime games or longer in Nets’ history includes, per Basketball-Reference:
- Feb. 13, 2019: Nets 148, Cleveland Cavaliers 139 at Cleveland
- March 20, 2015: Nets 129, Milwaukee Bucks 127 at Brooklyn
- Nov. 19, 2014: Bucks 122, Nets 118 at Brooklyn
- March 3, 2011: Nets 137, Toronto Raptors 136 at London
- Dec. 1, 2010: Oklahoma City Thunder 123, Nets 120 at Newark
- Nov. 8, 1995: Orlando Magic 130, Nets 122 at Orlando
- Feb. 1, 1987: Golden State Warriors 150, Nets 147 at Oakland, Calif. (4OT)
- Oct. 30, 1985: Nets 147, Indiana Pacers 138 at East Rutherford
- Feb. 14, 1975: San Diego Conquistadors 176, Nets (ABA) 166 at San Diego (4OT)
- Jan. 10, 1969: Nets 132, New Orleans Buccaneers 127 at Commack
With the win, Brooklyn is now 5-1 in overtime games this season. The six overtime games ties the Pistons for the most in the NBA this season and Brooklyn’s five overtime victories are the most in the league.