Brooklyn Nets: 3 takeaways from miracle victory in Sacramento

3. Brooklyn broke out truly bizarre lineup in the 4th … and it worked!

If you had told me that a lineup of Treveon Graham, Jared Dudley, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, D’Angelo Russell, and Rodions Kurucs could be a plus lineup, you’d get a chuckle out of me.

If you had told me that this group of guys could win a game, that chuckle would become hysterical laughter.

If you told me that this same lineup could come back from a 28-point deficit, I would call the police immediately.

Graham, Dudley, and RHJ have all become the punching bags of #NetsTwitter. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We’ve all trashed on these guys at one point or another.

Yet, somehow, this group of misfit toys was the fuel to the revolution in Sacramento.

Part of this pertained to just how awful Brooklyn’s normal rotation was. Russell was the only starter who could really get anything going. Jarrett Allen was completely invisible outside of letting Bagley loft hook-shots over his dome. Joe Harris started off hot but tailed off quickly.

Spencer Dinwiddie was flat out awful for the second game in a row. Din finished with 10 points on only three made field goals. Through his last two games, Dinwiddie is 5-of-23 from the field; a Westbrookian stat-line if I’ve ever seen one.

With Brooklyn’s old reliable falling off into the abyss, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson was forced to think on the fly and try something new. Down 28, I guess why not take the opportunity to play such a unique combination of players?

Regardless of the reasoning, the five-man lineup certainly paid off. Jared Dudley hit a massive 3-pointer to give the Nets a two-point advantage with 1:11 left in the game.

Rondae’s coming-out party was equally impressive as it was unforeseen; especially considering he’d only played a combined 21 minutes during his last seven games. To come off the pine and play with such tenacity on defense was truly honorable.

RHJ got his hands into the cookie jar on multiple occasions and forced careless Kings’ turnovers. Next to D-Lo’s offensive outburst, RHJ’s defensive presence won Brooklyn this game.

With his future in Brooklyn up in the air, it was extremely heartwarming to see Hollis-Jefferson put up such a big game. A restricted free agent this summer, Tuesday’s game-winner could be perhaps his last big moment in a black-and-white jersey.