National Basketball Association
Brooklyn 126, New Orleans 121
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Officials: #43 Matt Myers, #19 James Capers, #34 Kevin Cutler
Attendance: 16890

D'Angelo Russell collected 22 points and 13 assists as the Brooklyn Nets held on for a 126-121 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night in New York.

Russell returned from getting a rest in Saturday in the Nets' 14-point loss at Milwaukee and posted his third double-double of the season. He made nine of 21 field-goal attempts as the Nets bounced back from a pair of double-digit road losses and won for the 10th time in 13 games.

Joe Harris added 21 points, including three big hoops down the stretch after New Orleans turned a 24-point deficit into a five-point gap.

DeMarre Carroll added 19 while Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 18 as Brooklyn's reserves outscored the Pelicans' reserves by a 55-5 margin.

New Orleans' Anthony Davis returned from being a last-minute scratch due to illness Monday and totaled 34 points and a career-high 26 rebounds. It was his ninth straight double-double.

Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the fourth quarter when the Pelicans outscored the Nets 34-21.

Elfrid Payton added a season-high 25 points while Julius Randle contributed 21, but the Pelicans lost for the 15th time in their past 22 games since mid-November on a night New Orleans fell short despite shooting 52.9 percent from the floor.

Brooklyn opened a 112-91 lead on a 3-pointer by Shabazz Napier with 9:54 left in the fourth but missed its next seven shots. New Orleans used a 15-1 run to get within 113-106 on a free throw by Jrue Holiday with 5:04 remaining.

Consecutive hoops by Harris helped Brooklyn stem the tide and regain its double-digit lead at 117-106 with 3 1/2 minutes left. Those baskets did not close it out, as a layup by Payton about a minute later made it a 117-110 game, but Brooklyn's Jarrett Allen had a dunk and Davis missed a spin-move layup with 1:53 remaining.

Following a New Orleans basket and a Brooklyn turnover, Davis converted a put-back to make it 119-114 with 55 seconds left. On the next possession, Harris hit his biggest hoop of the night, taking a pass from Dinwiddie and rolling from the 3-point arc down the baseline for a layup to give Brooklyn a 121-114 edge.

Before sweating out the finish, the Nets took the lead for good with 4:38 left in the first quarter. Brooklyn held a 73-58 lead at halftime, the Nets' highest first-half point total in a home game since Feb. 19, 2002. The Nets weathered a small New Orleans run in the third and took a 105-87 lead into the fourth before nearly blowing the game.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Orleans   Brooklyn
Anthony Davis 34 Scoring D'Angelo Russell 22
Elfrid Payton 7 Assists D'Angelo Russell 13
Anthony Davis 26 Rebounds Ed Davis 12
Anthony Davis 8 Free Throws Made Spencer Dinwiddie 6
E'Twaun Moore 2 Steals Ed Davis 2
Anthony Davis 3 Blocks Jarrett Allen 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Orleans 121 52.9 10-23 19-27 19 41 5 7 12
Brooklyn 126 50.5 16-31 16-21 27 43 5 7 10
Upcoming Games
  • Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Nets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Cleveland. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .412 after a win and .455 after a loss.