Even if the jumpers of the James Harden from Houston Rockets’ sides were not falling in, the coach of the Brooklyn Nets still wanted to make sure that his players were defending him just right.
This is why Kenny Atkinson held up a sign with the former player of Orlando Magic Dennis Scott with the no. 3 uniform and a red line crossing through the picture.
The message was heard loud and clear by Harden as his game got messed up.
Jarrett Allen of the Rocket said, “It was a ridiculous sign but that got us watching and it did work.”
Terrence Prince led the Brooklyn Nets with his 27 points along with 12 rebounds to help his team 127-116 win against the Rockets on Friday night.
Nights following their franchise record of 159 points win against the Washington Wizards; Rockets were not able to do much despite opening with their 15-point lead. They were 12 for 48 on the 3-pointers while Harden was 2 for 16 as the defense of the Brooklyn Nets improved under the influence of Atkinson’s sign.
Atkinson said, “this is the defensive coverage we have and we had the trouble in past for communicating to guys. This is why we came up with this idea for communicating with everyone. Sometimes if you humor things a little, it sinks in with the guys extra more.”
Despite this, Harden still finished the night with his 36 points along with 8 assists whereas Russell Westbrook added in his 27 points with 8 assists and 7 rebounds.
The tactic of Nets also allowed for the Rockets’ 6th man Eric Gordon to miss his all 5 3-pointer shots.
Up next, will be a road trip game for Houston Rockets against Miami Heat on Sunday night while the Brooklyn Nets will also be going to Detroit for a game on Sunday against Detroit Pistons.
Related content
