Finding the way to close things out
Wizards top Nets for impressive road win
The problem for the Washington Wizards this season has been the final minutes of the fourth quarter. It is a familiar pattern by now — they play at a high clip, shine on offense and succeed through the first three quarters but fade when it counts the most.
Not so on Sunday night. On the road against the fearsome Nets, Washington broke tradition and outlasted Brooklyn, 123-122, for its second win in a row.
The final minute was all drama: With Washington leading 121-120 with one minute to play, Nets star Kevin Durant and Wizards star Russell Westbrook traded missed three-pointers. Durant collected the rebound on Westbrook’s miss and heaved it to Timothé Luwawu- Cabarrot, who put Brooklyn ahead 122-121 with a wide-open layup with 28.2 seconds left. After a timeout, Wizards guard Bradley Beal overcame a double team to find center Thomas Bryant under the basket for a dunk with 14.9 seconds to play.
Washington held on to its one-point advantage from there. Kyrie Irving (30 points) missed a three-pointer with about five seconds to go. Brooklyn got the rebound, but Durant (28 points) missed a desperation jumper — meaning a pair of unlikely misses from a duo that combined for 58 points on their home court sealed the outcome.
Beal and Westbrook played perhaps their most aggressive game of the season for the Wizards. Beal scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Westbrook added 24 points on 7-for-25 shooting to go with 10 assists and five rebounds.
Bryant added 21 points and a teamhigh 14 rebounds. The Wizards shot just 41.3 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three-point range, but their energy was the difference.
They were aggressive from the start, shot well from three whenit counted and, most importantly, stayed calm in the final stretch.
Defense was scant on both ends of the court early, and the first half devolved into a shootout, with Beal and Irving the primary participants. The guards score 20 points apiece before halftime.
With the Wizards having at last notched their first win of the season Friday at the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wizards Coach Scott Brooks wanted to see them repeat a full, 48-minute effort to follow up.
Their energy was different at the start of the first and second quarters, at least, with Westbrook aggressively driving to the basket rather than opting for jumpers and Davis Bertans on target early. The Latvian sharpshooter made 3 of 5 from deep in the first half — before finishing 4 for 10 — with Beal and Westbrook supporting in the paint.