NEW YORK _ Before tipoff Wednesday night at Barclays Center Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld spoke admiringly of how hard the Nets play and the coaching job Kenny Atkinson has done to turn them into a surprising Eastern Conference playoff contender this season. Then, the Wizards came out and ran roughshod over the Nets, building a 28-point third-quarter lead on their way to a 125-116 victory.
The Nets never got closer than the final nine-point margin on their last possession. It was the kind of game that made Nets fans shake their heads in disbelief since it came one game after the Nets held the Spurs to 85 points. The Wizards reached that mark midway through the third period on their way to 101 by the end of the quarter, which was the most given up by the Nets through three quarters all season.
Once again, the Nets (32-31) hurt themselves by getting beaten on the boards, 57-41, and by 16 turnovers that turned into 29 Wizards points. D'Angelo Russell had another impressive offensive performance with 28 points and seven assists, but he committed five turnovers and got little support as Shabazz Napier (22 points) and Jarrett Allen (12) were the only other Nets to score in double figures. Caris LeVert struggled through a scoreless game, and the Nets had a poor 8-for-35 performance (22.9 percent) from 3-point range.
Bradley Beal topped the Wizards (25-36) with 31 points, Trevor Ariza added 23 and 10 rebounds, and Thomas Bryant had 18 points.
The Wizards arrived carrying a four-game losing streak and four games out of a playoff while adjusting to life without injured John Wall. But Wall's running mate Beal underlined his All-Star status by stepping up to average 30.3 points over the previous 11 games.
The Nets have excelled all season in terms of making opposing stars work hard for their points while limiting their supporting cast, and that was the challenge they faced with the Wizards. Speaking of Beal before the game, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said, "He's the head of the snake, so we definitely have a game plan to slow him down. It's like Kemba (Walker) and all these great players. You don't stop them, you slow them down in this league and try to get their percentages down, make sure that the other guys don't get off, too.
"I think the way we've done it is kind of multiple different looks, limit his touches. I think zone plays a part in that. I think different pick-and-roll coverages play a part. I don't think you can play a player like that straight up the whole game. He'll get 40 on you. So, we'll throw different looks at him like we have all year against really good players."
The Nets broke quickly from the gate, jumping to a 10-0 lead, but that giddy start quickly dissipated as the Nets struggled from 3-point range, missing nine straight from deep at one stretch of the first quarter. Beal's 12 points in the opening period helped the Wizards rally to lead, 34-28.
In the second quarter, the Nets let Bryant get going to score eight of his 14 first-half points to boost the Wizards to a 68-60 halftime lead. It got much worse at the outset of the third quarter when the Wizards opened with a 21-5 run, including 11 points from Ariza and six from Beal to build an 89-65 lead. That run was fueled by seven Nets turnovers.
Desperate for a spark, especially on defense, Atkinson brought Jared Dudley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson off the bench after not playing them the previous two games. But the Wizards didn't so much as blink. They led by as much as 28 points and finished the period with a 101-77 lead.
