The Nets had lost their two encounters against humble Washington, including the worst defensive performance in the entire NBA of the entire season. Sunday they broke any spell that the Wizards had against them.
Brooklyn returned to their victories, a 113 to 106 victory at the Barclays Center.
The Nets had typically impressive performances from James Harden (26 points, eight assists, five rebounds) and Kyrie Irving (28 point high, seven bags and six assists), Harden shaking off a collision at the end of the first half to stand out in the second. . Newly acquired Blake Griffin made his Nets debut and even set the crowd on fire with his first dunk since December 2019.
The Nets (29-14) turned a deficit of 14 points in the first half into an advantage of two touchdowns in the second quarter that they never yielded. They watched Washington crawl to a point with three minutes left, but got a response from Nic Claxton (16 points) and kept the Wizards at bay for the rest of the night.
Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 assists and 13 scholarships for Washington. But Brooklyn survived to win for the 15th time in the last 17 games – and the fourth consecutive at home – to stay half a game behind Philadelphia, pending the result of the Kniicks-76ers game. The only negative aspect was Landry Shamet suffering from a sprained right ankle.
Still, it marked a quantum leap since the first meetings against the magicians. The Nets recovered and tilt on the 3rd of January, then allowed 149 points in a rematch on the 31st of January at Capital One Arena. It is still the highest number of points allowed by any team this season, and left Brooklyn by just 13-9.
“They were aware. We saw some clips to remind them of what we want to take, what we didn’t take in the first game,” said Steve Nash. “In the first game, more than anything, we were complacent. we protected because things were so easy on the offensive side and they had a huge fourth period and we kicked him away at the last moment.
“The last game in Washington in particular in the fourth period, I felt that they had 50 points in the fourth period, and many of them were [Bradley] Beal or Westbrook leading from coast to coast all quarter. Then coming back, showing a crowd, having the discipline to do it over and over and then get down and take a stand and protect people. We cannot take anything for granted. “
They did a better job at that. The Nets are 16-5 behind a vastly improved defense.
“We are better off with our technique, clearer with what we ask of them. We spend more time together, ”said Nash before the game. “We added more layers to it, so I think that more than anything, time and dedication put us at a better pace.
“But we have to keep improving. We are not a defensive steamroller. We have to keep improving all year round and getting better and better and tonight is another opportunity to clean up a few things. “
Brooklyn fell backwards at the start, with a 20-6 drop in a 3-point Garrison Matthews, with 7:14 to go in the first quarter.
But exactly a period later, with 7:14 in time, the Nets took a complete turn in the game with an extended streak of 35-14 – including nine unanswered points to open the second half.
Joe Harris hit a 3-point basket to give Brooklyn a 41-34 lead. The Nets plagued Washington in 5 of 18 shootings and eight turnovers, starting their own transition game.
Harris hit another exactly a minute later to push the lead to 46-36. And when Irving hit a Westbrook pass, it led to a Bruce Brown tray on the other side and a 52-38 lead.
Brooklyn saw the Wizards grab within four points, but responded immediately with a 9-1 run to rebuild the lead.
The Nets saw Washington recover in 103-102 on a Westbrook tray with three minutes left, but Irving found Claxton for a dunk and a three point play with 2:39 in the regulation.
When Brooklyn forced a Matthews mistake, Irving grabbed the rebound and hit a pair of free throws on the other side to push the lead to five with 1:17 remaining. They took it from there.