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Three in a row! Crabbe drops 41 to send off Brooklyn crowd

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Final: 04/09/2018

W 114 – 105

acbirthdaybath
Photo courtesy YES Network

The Nets gave Barclays fans a treat for the last home game of the season — 18 threes, 41 points from Allen Crabbe and three straight wins for the first time this season. Add to that no meltdowns, and Brooklyn has won five of its last seven games with one game left on the docket. 

After putting up 24 threes against the Bulls on Saturday, the Nets picked up where they left off, getting threes up at a quick clip. Most of them came from Crabbe, who shot 8-of-11 from distance for the game.

But let’s break this birthday boy’s performance down: 20 points in the first six minutes, 29 points at halftime, 37 points after three quarters and 41 points total. He kept rolling out the stops, and that earned him a mini water shower during the YES Network post-game. Well-deserved, Crabbe!

Adding to the threes from Brooklyn, another consistent area of domination in the past three wins has been the assists. Recording 32 assists on 41 field goals, this is the first time the Nets have recorded 30+ assists in three straight games since 2006. Consistency in that area is a big step, especially since the Nets were missing Caris LeVert and Joe Harris’s assists as they sat out with right foot tendinitis and a sprained left ankle, respectively.

Brooklyn missed the contribution of those two off the bench, as the team recorded just 20 bench points, but Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell’s 20-point games helped out. 

The Nets had as large as a 12-point lead in this game, but the Bulls hung around thanks to seven players in double-digits. Even with the Bulls scoring 24 points on the fastbreak, Brooklyn’s 50 percent shooting from the field was just enough to hang on comfortably. 

Between Crabbe’s big night and Ryan Ruocco winning the Who Am I? crown, this was another fun game to wind down the season on. An unstoppable Crabbe and Ruocco only mean good things for Brooklyn.

D'Angelo Russell

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The stats: 21 PTS, 9-21 FG, 3-12 3FG, 6 REB, 11 AST, 5 TOV, 2 STL, 36 MIN

His shot was not always there, but D’Angelo Russell did his job as floor general tonight. The turnovers are to be expected from him, but his vision with Jarrett Allen and Crabbe was on point. The more D’Angelo was on the floor, the better his teammates did, and that’s all you can ask for from a point guard.

Oh, and he brought the handles too: 

Allen Crabbe

A+

The stats: 41 PTS, 12-15 FG, 8-11 EFG, 9-9 FT, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 TOV, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 34 MIN

A career-high for the 26-year-old in a game he dominated from the opening minutes. 20 points in the first six minutes? Crabbe was on another level. His 41 points were the most in a game in the Brooklyn era since Bojan Bogdanovic dropped 44 against Philadelphia on 3/5/16. 

And this picture of him getting semi-soaked post-game is good enough to hang on a wall inside Barclays Center.

Photo courtesy YES Network

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

A-

The stats: 4 PTS, 2-6 FG, 6 REB, 4 AST, 4 TOV, 1 STL, 2 BLK, 32 MIN

RHJ made life difficult for the Bulls, especially Lauri Markkanen. He did not have any highlight offensive plays, but the Nets did not need him to. Rondae held it down defensively, and those stops he forced were much-needed.

Spencer Dinwiddie

B+

The stats: 20 PTS, 6-13 FG, 3-9 3FG, 5-6 FT, 3 REB, 7 AST, 4 TOV, 35 MIN

With a fresh haircut, Spencer Dinwiddie was back to his old ways. He spent time both on and off the ball, and he was doing good work in both roles. It was encouraging to see Dinwiddie and D’Angelo work well alongside each other, picking up where the other left off in terms of dishing the ball and running the offense. 

We miss the fro, but we’ll take confident Dinwiddie performance. 

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