Nets rally from first-half deficit, but lose to Wizards
The Wizards' Bradley Beal moves the ball as the Nets' Taurean Prince and Caris LeVert, right, defend during the first half on Wednesday in Washington. Credit: AP/Luis M. Alvarez
WASHINGTON — The Nets wiped out an 18-point second-quarter deficit to gain the lead and put themselves in position to win in the final period. But after holding Wizards scoring machine Bradley Beal to just 13 points in the first three quarters, they let him go off for 17 fourth-quarter points to lead them to a 110-106 victory over the Nets Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.
There were 10 lead changes and six ties in a wild fourth quarter. Beal twice hit game-tying three-pointers with less than two minutes left, the last at the 1:02 mark for a tie at 103. But after Spencer Dinwiddie made one of two foul shots, Beal made a pass to Thomas Bryant who hit a pair of free throws for a 105-104 lead.
Dinwiddie then made a driving layup with 24.2 seconds to go for a one-point lead, but then, Beal drew a double-team and fed a wide-open Jerome Robinson for a left-wing three that splashed cleanly for a 108-106 lead, leaving just 8.4 seconds. Dinwiddie tried a step-back three with 1.6 seconds left, but it came up short before Robinson added to more foul shots.
Explaining why Robinson was so open, coach Kenny Atkinson said, “We obviously did not want Beal to shoot the ball. That was the gameplan. It was ‘let someone else beat us,’ and credit to the kid, he hit a big shot.
“I thought Spencer had a great look, and we got the switch we wanted. He got the stepback, had plenty of time and space and it didn’t go in. Sometimes, that’s what it comes down to.”
Caris LeVert had 34 points to lead the Nets, who at 26-31 hold the No. 7 spot in the East, but are only a half-game ahead of the Magic. Dinwiddie added 18 and Jordan had 16 points and 16 rebounds to help the Nets dominate the boards, 56-39.
The Wizards’ Beal was coming off back-to-back games of 53 and a career-high 55 points, so, containing him figured to be job No. 1 for the Nets. Beal totaled 30 for the Wizards (21-36), who also got 17 from Rui Hachimura and 14 from Davis Bertans as their bench outscored the Nets’ reserves 47-30.
“We threw a lot of stuff at him, and fourth quarter, he took over,” Atkinson said. “That’s what great players do. He’s really become a great player in this league.”
The Nets had Garrett Temple on Beal, and Dinwiddie also ran at him before he passed to Robinson. The Nets also had coverage on Bertans, a top three-point specialist.
“We got two to the ball with Beal,” Atkinson said. “He threw it out. Credit to him for making that play. A lot of guys would have forced it. He was the hero by making the pass.”
After driving earlier for a go-ahead basket, Dinwiddie then faked the drive to create space between himself and Bertans before taking the stepback three. “Being down two on the road with eight seconds left and no timeouts, it’s a tough position,” Dinwiddie said. “You can go for the win with an opportunity for a putback.”
So the Nets failed to execute at the end, but how they fell so far behind early is a bigger question. Describing some of the Nets’ first-half errors, Atkinson said, “It was pure focus. We can all go into our dictionary or ask a sports psychologist what focus means or what mentally locked in means, but we weren’t. It was evident .
DeAndre Jordan and Temple said the Nets need to communicate about problems in their past two losses. “We’ve got to have a sense of urgency,” Temple said. “Attention to detail has to be heightened for the last 25 games.”
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
