RECAP – FINAL: #Nets 94 – #Wizards 101

By jpaolantonio

Updated: March 17, 2014

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The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Washington Wizards by a score of 101-94 in Washington.

Bradley Beal started this game with a couple of 3-pointers to help the Wizards jump out to a quick 8-7 lead.  Deron Williams looked to turn back the clock and ran off 10 points himself with two 3-pointers to help Brooklyn take a 25-16 lead.  The Nets had four steals and turned the Wizards over six times to take a 26-19 lead after one.

The defense continued to he impressive from Brooklyn as the second unit came on with the same intensity as the starters forcing more turnovers. Andray Blatche came in and gave Brooklyn a spark with nine points in the second.  A run at the end of the half gave the Nets a 57-48 behind 12 points and six rebounds by Williams.

The Wizards made an 11-2 run to open the third but the Nets responded with their own 10-2 run. With a bucket in the third Paul Pierce has moved past Patrick Ewing into 18th place on the NBA’s all-time points list (24,817 points).  Brooklyn took the Wizards shot in the third and responded to lead 79-72 going into the fourth.

The Wizards came out hot with their second unit and ate away the lead until Marcus Thornton grabbed the momentum back with a couple dagger 3-pointers and forays to the rim midway through quarter.  Brooklyn led by 10 early in the fourth quarter but was outscored 29-12 the rest of the way.  With the Nets down 97-94 with 2 minutes to play the Nets had four straight possessions that came up empty with missed jumpshots and no rebounds.

The game got away from them as Washington ended the game on a 9-0 run to sweep the season series from Brooklyn 101-94.

The Nets were outscored 29-15 in the fourth and had zero field goals over the last 6:22.

STATS: The Nets are 31-0 this season when leading after 3 quarters against every team except the Wizards (0-2).

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“We never could really give them that big hit, and they just kept grinding, kept grinding and got back in the game,” Paul Pierce said. “We just had a terrible offensive and defensive fourth quarter, and we can’t do that with the playoffs looming around the corner. We gotta be more solid, we gotta be more consistent.”

“It felt like a playoff game,” said Deron Williams, who went 0-for-7 from the field in the final three quarters. “And we just lost it.”

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KEY STATS: The Nets were 5-for-16 in the fourth, including 0-for-8 over the final 6:22 and had zero field goals. They did not score a point in the final 4:26.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Marcus Thornton was 5-of-6 from 3-point range and accumulated the 19 points in just 22 minutes of action.

NEXT UP: The Nets will be back in action Monday night when they host the Phoenix Suns in Brooklyn.  The game can be seen on YES at 7:30.

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