Washington Wizards Late Game Push, Powers Them Past Brooklyn Nets

On Sunday, fans were treated to an offensive, back-and-forth game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Washington Wizards.

The Nets were led by superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. James Harden did not play because he was out with a thigh contusion. Regardless, the team jumped to a quick start in the first quarter. Brooklyn scored 23 to the Wizards’ nine in an offensive run when the game started. That offensive run dictated how the rest of the game went. By the end of the first quarter, Brooklyn led 38-28. For the next three quarters, each team scored over 30 points in each quarter. At the end of the first half, the score was 71-65 as the Nets led. Brooklyn maintained the lead heading into the fourth, where Washington came back to beat them.

The Wizards were led by the duo of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal. Washington trailed the first three quarters before the team erupted in the fourth quarter for a comeback win over the Nets. Westbrook scored 41 points for the Wizards, along with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Beal had 37 points, six rebounds and four assists, as they led the scoring in the fourth quarter. Their scoring outburst led them to close the gap as there were seconds left in the game.

The fourth quarter heated up as Washington outscored Brooklyn, 48-38. The high scoring quarter led to an intense and exciting finish. With 11 seconds left in the game, the Wizards trailed 146-141 before Beal hit a three-pointer to bring the score to 146-144. The key moment came as Brooklyn inbound following Beals’ three was stolen by Wizards’ Garrison Mathews, who then passed it to Westbrook, who scored a three to put the team up by one.

Washington clung on and sealed the deal as superstar Beal sank two free throws to seal the teams’ comeback victory. The shooting guard told reporters following the win, “It wasn’t just one guy who won us the game or two guys, it was a collective effort from everybody.”

The loss stung Brooklyn as it highlighted a recurring issue for them since the Harden trade. The trade caused the team to lose their defensive players. Since the trade, Brooklyn is one of the top five worst defensive teams. The team is currently 25th in team defensive rating with 113.3. Nets’ coach Steve Nash put it bluntly to reporters after the game, “We were not good enough defensively.” Nash spoke more about the teams’ troubles, “When you give up 149 points, that’s one error in about 50 defensive lapses.”