Nets' Humphries answers jeers with big game

WASHINGTON -- Maybe Wizards fans were keeping up with the Kardashians.

That might explain why they relentlessly booed Nets forward Kris Humphries, famous for his much-hyped -- and short-lived -- marriage to Kim Kardashian.

Jeered during pregame introductions and harangued every time he touched the ball last night, Humphries finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Nets beat Washington, 90-84, coming back from a 21-point second-quarter deficit in the opener for both teams.

"To me, it's motivation,'' Humphries said. "People are yelling at you -- you've got to perform, you've got to play hard. They might want to have a reason to say something. You want to try and give them that reason. For me, it just makes it a little hostile environment -- and it's kind of fun to play in that environment."

Humphries also was heavily booed last week in a preseason game at Madison Square Garden, although when the forward was on the bench, fans chanted for coach Avery Johnson to put him in.

Wizards fans greeted Humphries -- who split up with Kardashian 72 days after their wedding -- with loud jeers when he was introduced. They applauded and shouted approval when Humphries was whistled for fouls.

Johnson was at a loss to explain all the hostility toward Humphries. "I'm trying to figure out: What did he do? I'm serious,'' he said. "It may be because I don't follow reality TV -- I don't know all the ins and outs of it. It's pretty hilarious to me. I don't even know if they know why they're booing."

Deron Williams had 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Nets. Anthony Morrow added 16 points and Damion James had 14 rebounds. Nick Young led the Wizards with 16 points.

"Our blessing was our curse," the Wizards' Andray Blatche said. "Getting up by 20 so early and so easy was a curse for us, because then guys started to get relaxed, and then we all wanted to start to play one-on-one basketball."

Which, as point guard John Wall explained, isn't something that generally will work in Washington's favor. Said Wall, echoing coach Flip Saunders: "We have nobody on our team that's that great." -- AP