HOUSTON (AP) — Ziaire Williams had 21 points, D’Angelo Russell added 18 and the Brooklyn Nets won consecutive games for the first time since November with a 110-98 victory over the short-handed Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
The Nets, who beat Charlotte on Wednesday night, won two games in a row for the first time since a three-game winning streak from Nov. 24-27.
The Rockets were playing without Alperen Sengun, who missed a second straight game with a bruised calf, and lost Fred VanVleet to an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Brooklyn led by double digits for most of the night and used a big run early in the third quarter to push its advantage to 18 and cruise to the win.
Jalen Green had 29 to lead the Rockets, who lost a second straight after winning their previous four games.
Takeaways
Nets: Brooklyn used a balanced scoring attack to get the win with all five starters scoring at least 13 points.
Rockets: Houston’s offense struggled without Sengun and VanVleet, who are second and third on the team by averaging 19.1 and 14.9 points a game. VanVleet had three points before leaving with the injury.
Key moment
The Nets were up by nine early in the third quarter before using a 11-2 run, with 3-pointers from Williams and Keon Johnson, to make it 66-48 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.
Key stat
Houston’s Amen Thompson and Dillon Brooks combined to make just 11 of 30 shots.
Up next
Houston begins a four-game road trip against the New York Knicks on Monday night before playing the Nets again Tuesday night in Brooklyn's next game.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press