SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ The Brooklyn Nets have perfected the art of the comeback, but no one could have expected them to dig their way out of a 28-point third-quarter hole that was only down to 25 at the start of the fourth quarter. But that's exactly what they did as Kenny Atkinson inserted benchwarmers Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Treveon Graham and Jared Dudley for a spark of life and they fed super-hot D'Angelo Russell, who scored 27 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter.
After forcing a turnover by Kings rookie Marvin Bagley III with 5.9 seconds left in a tie game, they gave the ball to Hollis-Jefferson and he drove down the lane to score the winning layup with 0.8 seconds left in the Nets' 123-121 victory. When a desperation full-court heave by Buddy Hield missed at the buzzer, the Nets' bench stormed the court and celebrated the improbable win Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center.
The Nets (37-36) climbed back above the .500 mark and snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. Russell shot 17-for-33 for the game, including 10-for-15 in the fourth quarter, and he added 12 assists. Hollis-Jefferson, who didn't play until the fourth quarter had 14 points.
