The Nets lost both of their meetings against low Washington, including the worst defensive performance in the entire NBA all season. On Sunday, they broke the witches the wizards had.
Brooklyn returned to its winning streak, a 113-106 victory at Barclays Center.
The Nets typically have impressive performances from James Harden (26 points, eight assists, five rebounds) and Kyrie Irving (match highlight 28 points, seven boards and six assists). Harden shook off a collision late in the first half to get into the second. The newly acquired Blake Griffin made his debut on Nets and even fired up the crowd with his first dunk since December 2019.
The Nets (29-14) carried a 14-point deficit in the first half in a two-quarter lead in the second quarter that they never surrendered. They saw Washington crawl inside a point with three minutes of play, but they got an answer from Nic Claxton (16 points) and kept the Wizards at arm’s length the rest of the night.
Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 assists and 13 boards for Washington. But Brooklyn survived to win for the 15th time in the last 17 games – and fourth in a row at home – to move a half game behind Philadelphia, pending the outcome of the Kniicks 76ers game. The only negative reaction was that Landry Shamet had a sprained right ankle.
Still, it was a quantum leap from previous meetings against the Wizards. The Nets came flat and gave up the January 3 tilt and then allowed 149 points in a January 31 rematch at Capital One Arena. These are still the most points any team allows this season, leaving Brooklyn just 13-9.
“We are aware. “We watched a few tracks to remind them what we want to take away in the first game,” said Steve Nash. ‘The first game made us more than anything complacent. We were big and never looked down because things were so easy on the attack and they had a big fourth quarter and we kicked it away at the last minute.
‘The last game in Washington, especially in the fourth quarter, felt like they had 50 points in the fourth quarter, and a lot of that was [Bradley] Beal of Westbrook takes it from coast to coast throughout the term. So to come back, to show a crowd, to have the discipline to do it over and over again and then to go down and get an attitude and watch people. We can not take anything for granted. ”
They did it better. The Nets are 16-5 behind a significantly improved defense.
‘We’ve gotten better at our technique, and it’s clearer about what we need to do them. We had more time together, “Nash said before the game. ‘We added more layers to it, so I think it’s more than anything that made the time and dedication to it walk us better.
“But we must continue to improve. We’re not a defensive juggernaut. We need to keep improving all year and getting better and better, and tonight is another opportunity to tidy things up. ”
Brooklyn fell behind early, 20-6 down on a 3-point Garrison Matthews with 7:14 left in the first quarter.
But exactly one period later, with 7:14 left in the half, the Nets turned the game around completely with an extended run of 35-14 – including nine unanswered points to open the second quarter.
Joe Harris hit a three-pointer to give Brooklyn a 41-34 lead. The Nets plagued Washington in five out of 18 shootings and eight turnovers, which in turn fueled their own transition play.
Harris hit another one exactly one minute later to increase the lead to 46-36. And when Irving picked a Westbrook pass, it led to a Bruce Brown plant on the other hand and 52-38.
Brooklyn did see the Wizards claw within four points, but it responded immediately with a 9-1 run to rebuild the lead.
The Nets saw Washington come back within 103-102 on a drive-through by Westbrook with three minutes left, but Irving found Claxton for a dunk and three-point game with 2:39 in regulation.
When Brooklyn forced a Matthews foul, Irving snatched the rebound and hit some free throws on the other side to push the lead to five with 1:17 left. They kept going from there.