D'Angelo Russell had a nice little Saturday.
The Nets are locked in tight playoff race in the East, and yesterday they trailed the Hornets by six points late in the game thanks to a 24-4 Charlotte run. Brooklyn then turned to Russell – just as it had done for the majority of the night – and the All-Star proceeded to put up the team's final 12 points en route to a huge 117-115 road victory.
His performance in the game's waning moments truly was a thing of beauty.
When the game was on the line, @Dloading took matters into his own hands.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 24, 2019
A career-high-tying 40 points for DLo on his 23rd birthday pic.twitter.com/FDYmpzURXf
On his 23rd birthday, Russell finished with a career-high-tying 40 points, seven assists, two steals and a blocked shot. The Nets had been on a bit of a slide heading into this one as the team had lost seven of its previous 10 games. Charlotte is chasing Brooklyn for the sixth spot in the East Division, so the win really couldn't have come at a better time.
The Nets are alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and the victory gives them a 2-1 edge in the series. The two teams will meet again next Friday in Brooklyn which figures to be another pivotal matchup in the playoff race.
On the season, Russell is averaging 20.2 points per game, 3.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists. The Nets have 21 games remaining until the regular season comes to an end. He'll need plenty more ice in his veins as the playoff race draws to a close in April.
