Russell scores 27, Nets hit 19 3s and beat Nuggets
NEW YORK >> D’Angelo Russell had 27 points and 11 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets surpassed last season’s win total by beating the Denver Nuggets
135-130 on Wednesday night. Russell made six of the Nets’ 19
3-pointers, one game after they made only five as a team in their poorest shooting performance of the season.
DeMarre Carroll added 18 points,
10 rebounds and six assists for Brooklyn (29-27), which got two key injured players back and led by 21 points in ending a three-game skid. Joe Harris scored 17 points and Treveon Graham had 16, with four 3-pointers.
Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his 10th triple-double of the season for the Nuggets, who have lost two straight games to fall out of a tie for the Western Conference lead.
Mason Plumlee scored a seasonhigh 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting against his former team, and Jamal Murray had 19 points and 11 assists after missing six games with a sprained left ankle.
Brooklyn had failed to score 100 in its previous two games and had season lows of 32 percent shooting overall and 11.9 percent (5 for 42) from 3-point range in a 113-94 loss to Milwaukee on Monday.
Coach Kenny Atkinson dismissed questions about a need for more shooting before the trade deadline, and he sure looked right against Denver.
The Nets made 13 of their first 18 attempts from behind the arc. Harris, who missed the last game with a sore right hip, hit three 3s, and Allen Crabbe came off the bench to hit his first 3-point attempt after missing 26 games with a sore right knee.
Source: Bulls acquire Porter Jr. from Washington
CHICAGO >> The Washington Wizards decided they needed to shake things up with All-Star point guard John Wall out for the season.
Otto Porter Jr. is out. Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis are in.
Washington traded Porter to the struggling Bulls on Wednesday for Parker and Portis.
The trade ends a failed experiment for the Bulls after Parker signed a $40 million, two-year contract with his hometown team. Chicago entered Wednesday’s game against New Orleans at 12-41.