DeMarre Carroll's buzzer-beater forced a third overtime, and D'Angelo Russell took over from there as the Brooklyn Nets outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 148-139 in their final game before the NBA All-Star break.
Russell outscored the Cavs 11-3 over the first three minutes to put the Nets up 139-131 and he finished with 14 points over those final five minutes, making all six of his shots.
The win gave the Nets a 30-29 record going into the break.
Russell finished with 36 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Joe Harris had 25 points, making 4-of-5 3-pointers.
Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, the Nets had eight players total in double figures.
DeMarre Carroll had 18 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 17, including 12 in the fourth quarter, points, Allen Crabbe had 14, Caris LeVert had 12 and Shabazz Napier had 10.
LeVert, Carroll and Crabbe also had seven rebounds, and Napier had seven assists.
The Nets were without Rodions Kurucs (elbow) and Treveon Graham (personal reasons) both of whom were added to the injury report and declared out on Wednesday. With their absences, LeVert and Hollis-Jefferson drew starts, the first for LeVert since he was injured on Nov. 12 in Minnesota. Wednesday's game was the third for LeVert since his return last Friday.
The Nets closed the second quarter with a 10-2 run to get back within three points going into halftime.
Brooklyn took a 30-29 lead after the first quarter and Harris and Crabbe combined for five 3-pointers in the period. Crabbe hit his two in the final 1:12 of the quarter to give the Nets the lead.
But the Cavs, after leading for most of the first quarter, quickly jumped back in front with a 9-0 run to open the second quarter keyed by Jordan Clarkson. The Nets fell behind 45-34 before they got their first field goal of the quarter, a 3-pointer by Carroll more than four minutes in.
With Cleveland up 56-45, Allen scored in the lane and LeVert finished on consecutive drives. After Cedi Osman scored for the Cavs, Allen finished an alley-oop from LeVert and Carroll's end-to-end dash made it a 58-55 game at halftime.
Cleveland pushed its lead to double-digits again in the third quarter before the Nets again closed the quarter strong. Brooklyn outscored the Cavs 17-7 over the final 4:12 with two late threes from Russell putting the Nets up 84-83 before a Matthew Dellevadova free throw tied the game at 84 going into the fourth.
Hollis-Jefferson kept the Nets even through a nip-and-tuck fourth quarter, scoring 10 consecutive Brooklyn points over a six-minute stretch at one point. Harris followed with a three-point play to tie the game at 103 and Russell knotted the game at 109 on a drive with just over a minute remaining.
Tied at 109 in overtime, the Nets and Cavs went scoreless for the next two minutes. Russell eventually put Brooklyn up 118-116 with two free throws with 16 seconds remaining, but Collin Sexton's drive tied the game at 2.8 and forced a second overtime.
The Nets took a 125-124 lead on a Harris drive, but Clarkson pulled up for an elbow jumper to give the Cavs the lead and made it a three-point game with two free throws with 3.8 seconds to go. Brooklyn inbounded in the halfcourt and got the ball to Carroll, who stepped back out behind the line to knock down the game-tying three at the buzzer.
UP NEXT
For some Nets, a few days off. D'Angelo Russell, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs are headed to Charlotte to participate in NBA All-Star Weekend. The Nets will be back on the court next Thursday, hosting the Portland Trail Blazers at Barclays Center.