The Houston Rockets experienced a devastating collapse Tuesday night, letting two separate multi-possession leads slip away in the final 90 seconds of a stunning 99-97 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
The game unraveled in the last 10 seconds, as a chaotic sequence of errors turned what should have been a victory into a heartbreaking defeat.
With Houston leading 97-93, Brooklyn inbounded the ball to Cameron Johnson, who drilled a quick three-pointer to cut the deficit to one. The Rockets still had control—until an errant inbounds pass from Amen Thompson to Fred VanVleet ended up in the hands of D’Angelo Russell. The veteran guard didn’t hesitate, sinking a clutch three-pointer with just 3.4 seconds left, sending Barclays Center into a frenzy.
Jalen Green had a last-second chance to redeem Houston, but his desperation three-pointer missed the mark. It wasn’t his only costly decision—earlier, with 57 seconds left and the Rockets up by four, he launched a contested three instead of running down the clock. The miss led to a quick Nets three-pointer by Ziaire Williams, setting the stage for Brooklyn’s stunning comeback.
The collapse overshadowed a monster performance from Rockets center Alperen Şengün, who dominated with 24 points, 20 rebounds, and four assists. However, postgame, head coach Ime Udoka didn’t hold back, criticizing his team’s toughness.
“More of the same. Lack of physicality, toughness. All those things. We didn’t really deserve to win the game,” Udoka said. “Basketball gods got us at the end.”
Ironically, Udoka’s own words had fired up the Nets. Before the game, he had referred to Brooklyn as a “low-level team,” a comment that Keon Johnson said added fuel to their fire.
With the loss, the Rockets have now dropped four straight games, sitting at 32-18—still third in the Western Conference but now dangerously close to slipping toward the play-in tournament. If Tuesday’s collapse is any indication, Houston has plenty to clean up before the postseason.
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