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.

Nets win consecutive games for 1st time since November with 110-98 victory over Rockets | iNFOnews.ca — Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) passes against Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Houston, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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.