It took a wild rally in the final 10 seconds at Capital One Arena, but the Washington Wizards brought down the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon.
The Wizards, after Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal hit a 3-point clutch pair within about four seconds, disturbed Nets 149-146.
“This was one of the craziest games, if not the craziest I’ve ever played,” said Wizards coach Scott Brooks, via Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Scott Brooks was late for his post-game media session now. The reason?
“This was the first game in the whole year that I had a White Claw.”
– Fred Katz (@FredKatz) February 1, 2021
Beal and Westbrook provoke comeback
The Wizards, after starting the game on the wrong side of a 23-9 run, recovered and lost just five points with just 10 seconds on the clock.
Beal, after bringing the ball to the court after a couple of free throws from Kyrie Irving, deftly drilled a deep bucket behind the arch to bring Washington suddenly in just two.
Then, while the Nets went inbound the ball, Garrison Mathews came in with a big steal and gave it to Westbrook – who hit a 3-point to give them the lead.
The entire sequence lasted about four seconds. According to NumberFire, the Nets also had a 97.95% chance of defeating the Wizards after Irving’s free throws.
Although Mathews’s theft was a very clear mistake for the Nets, coach Steve Nash is not specifically blaming that move. His team lost almost 150 points on Sunday night, and now has the worst defensive ranking in the league and what would be the worst defensive ranking in NBA history if the season ended.
“It was just a mistake, and it happens, but when you give up 149 points, it’s a mistake in about 50 defensive lapses,” said Nash, through the YES Network. “[We were] it is not good enough defensively. We can look at the lost layup or the turnaround for the 3 there, but we shouldn’t be in that position … They are a desperate team looking for a win and we gave them a chance and gave them life.
Beal, after stopping, hit a pair of free throws to seal the three-point win for Washington – which marked his first victory since January 11, when the team dealt with a massive outbreak of COVID-19 that left them aside for almost two weeks.
Westbrook led the Wizards with almost a triple-double, finishing with 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Beal was not far behind with 37 points, 22 of which in the fourth period.
“It wasn’t something I needed to see on its own, but I feel that our effort and the way we played was great,” said Beal, via Katz.
“It wasn’t just one guy who won the game or two guys. It was a collective effort by everyone ”.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 37 points and seven rebounds, while kicking 11 of 19 on the field in defeat, which resulted in a four-game winning streak. Joe Harris added 30 points, and Irving finished with 26 points and eight assists. They were without James Harden, who lost the game with a thigh injury.
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