Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal quickly scored six points in a stunning 3.8-second sequence that propelled the Washington Wizards to a 149-146 return to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night.
“Right now, we have nothing to lose,” Westbrook said. “It’s about winning or going home.”
The wizards, five points down, with the shot fired off, seemed to be heading for their fifth straight loss.
“Honestly, Ish (Smith) just told me to push and pull him,” Beal said after the game. “That’s all we could have done in this situation.”
Went.
Beal climbed into the yard and fired up to hook a 3-pointer that brought Washington two points behind Brooklyn with 8.1 seconds left. While Nets striker Joe Harris quickly entered the ball at the baseline, teammate Kevin Durant headed for the basket. Wrong communication allowed Wizards goalkeeper Garrison Mathews to steal the ball in the corner and send it to Westbrook, who buried another 3 with 4.3 seconds of play.
With the Wizards clinging to a one-point lead, the Nets took a timeout. When the game resumed, Nets goalkeeper Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot managed to show a good distribution in the last two seconds of the game, but his attempt came off the edge.
Two free throws from Beal sealed Washington’s victory.
“We had that game,” said Nets goalkeeper Kyrie Irving. “It should have been ours, so we look in the mirror and see what we can correct as individuals and as a group – especially with effort. I couldn’t keep a stick today. Those guys were walking right around me and I was a little frustrated. “
The Nets led by up to 18 points to Capital One Arena and had three 25-point markers in Harris, Irving and Durant. The Wizards and Nets combined 295 points was the second highest-scoring game in 25 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
But defensively, Brooklyn continued to fight. The Nets gave up 72 points in the paint, tied for the third most allowed in a game in the last 25 seasons and the most allowed in a game in 2017. Beal managed to score 22 of the 37 total points in fourth trimester. The Wizards outscored the Nets 12-2 during the clutch.
“It was the first game of the year that we had a White Claw,” said wizards coach Scott Brooks. “I wanted to enjoy it. This is a good feeling. We wanted our players to enjoy it. We fought. We fought hard. … We did it all year, and the basketball gods gave us took a break tonight. “
The Nets’ defensive problems allowed the wizards to stay in the game. While the final sequence of the game seemed to be the tip of the Nets breakdown, Irving said Harris’ turnover and the next 3 were a “microcosm” of the problems that plagued Brooklyn all night.
“It doesn’t come out in one piece,” Harris added. “But at the same time, I mean, if I hadn’t done it (turnover), I wouldn’t have been here talking about losses.”
Nets coach Steve Nash called Harris’ turnover “an unfortunate moment,” but said he was not to blame for the loss.
“When you drop 149 points, that’s an error in about 50 defensive deficiencies,” Nash said. “So, they are not good enough defensively and we can look at the lost level or the turnover for the 3 there, but we should not have been in that position. long until their confidence increased. They are a desperate group looking to win and I gave them a chance and gave them life. “
For Durant, “This is one you just had to get rid of.”