Even without Kevin Durant, the Nets managed to win their visit to Capital One Arena. The New Yorkers beat the Wizards by a tight 118-119, reaching 28 wins and staying in the wake of the Bulls and Heat in the fight for the first position in the East. Those from Washington, meanwhile, remain in eighth place, although the differences in the conference are minimal and there is still a lot of regular season ahead.
Steve Nash’s side were ahead on the scoreboard practically from start to finish (3-2 was the only exception) but that didn’t make this a comfortable game, far from it. Except for a break attempt in the third quarter, in which they came to be 16 points ahead, the differences were always minimal, and the last set was a constant battle on their part to hold on to the little difference they had. In fact, there were many options for the Wizards to take the lead, but they failed to materialize any of them and the victory ended up flying to New York.
In particular, it was Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie who could have turned the game around on the final possession, but their two 3-pointers were spit out the rim and shortly after the sound of the horn allowed the Nets to breathe a sigh of relief.
Kyrie Irving, with 30 points that represent his highest score of the season, was in charge of commanding Brooklyn on the offensive side, showing that he is gradually compensating for the lack of rhythm and that he is prepared to be a differential factor. The point guard was well supported by the 27 points from LaMarcus Aldridge, who also set his best mark of the season and was a nightmare for the locals thanks to his effectiveness near the rim and from mid-range. On the other hand, James Harden and Patty Mills added 18 and 17 points respectively, giving their team just enough to win the game.
At home, Bradley Beal was the best with 23 points and 9 assists, followed by 18 added by Kyle Kuzma. Those from Washington also found great support in their men on the bench, who added a total of 51 points thanks to 14 from Montrezl Harrell and Rui Hachimura and 13 from Deni Avdija.
One hand off the bench
With the Wizards trying to finish the comeback in the fourth quarter, one of the most controversial actions of the game took place. Dinwiddie threw a pass to Kuzma, who was wide open in the corner, when one of the Nets assistants reached out from the bench and brushed the ball, deflecting it just enough that Kyle couldn’t catch it and it went out of the box. clue. The referees, who did not appreciate the intervention of the assistant, chose not to intervene and leave possession to Brooklyn, which generated the anger of the forward.
“This looks like an amateur league,” said the Wizards. “It was a very unfortunate action. There have been a couple of them that have been bothering the whole game, but I guess it’s something to live with.
(Cover photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)