CLEVELAND _ For four quarter and two overtime sessions, D'Angelo Russell struggled through a 7-for-24 shooting night, but in the third overtime, Russell channeled his newly minted All-Star identity to score 11 straight points and 14 overall on 6-for-6 shooting in the extra session to send the Nets to a hard-fought 148-139 win they felt they had to have Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Nets climbed a game above .500 and reached the 30-win plateau at 30-29 heading to the All-Star break. They had eight players score in double figures led by Russell, who scored 36 to go with eight assists and seven rebounds, Joe Harris had 25 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 17 and DeMarre Carroll had 18, including the miracle buzzer-beating 3 that forced the third OT.
The Cavs (12-46) were topped by 42 points from Jordan Clarkson and got 24 from Collin Sexton and 23 from Marquese Chriss.
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