Late Wizards Run Dooms Nets on the Road

In the closing act of a two-game road trip, the Brooklyn Nets traveled to our nation's capital for a rematch of the Feb. 5 119-102 loss to the Washington Wizards. In a battle between two of the NBA's rebuilding squads, Brooklyn proved unable to overcome Washington's promising nucleus., falling 107-99.

Ziaire Williams led the Nets with 19 points and three steals in the road shortcoming.

Much like the aforementioned falter, the Wizards began the contest unable to miss from beyond the arc. Led by Bilal Coulibaly's 11 first-quarter points, Washington connected on six of their first nine three-point attempts, mirroring the early February output.

Even without Alex Sarr, Brooklyn was unable to take advantage of the compromised interior just days after Nic Claxton produced one of his most complete performances of the 2024-25 campaign. After falling behind by as much as 14 in the opening frame, the Nets' patented grit began appearing in the action that followed.

Fueled by Killian Hayes, who made his second-straight start with D'Angelo Russell nursing a rolled ankle, Brooklyn started crawling back. The former seventh-overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft finally found his stroke as he continues adjusting to Jordi Fernandez's offense.

Hayes added seven points and five assists in the first half while opening up the Nets' offense. Thanks to Hayes, Cam Johnson and Tyrese Martin combined for 23 points, trimming the Wizards' advantage down to eight heading into the break.

After allowing 67 points through two quarters, Brooklyn's defense looked entirely different to start the third quarter. The visitors began the stanza on a 7-0 run, forcing Washington into a four-minute scoring drought.

Johnson nailed a right-wing three in transition to knot the score for the first time since tip-off, quickly erasing the hosts' blowout hopes. Mere minutes later, Jalen Wilson added a triple of his own as the Nets outscored the Wizards 28-18 out of halftime, creating a two-point cushion with 12 minutes to play.

The conference rivals traded buckets throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter until Washington's young core showed off its clutch gene. Behind two monstrous shots from Jordan Poole, the Wizards ripped off an 11-2 run late in the fourth quarter to hand Brooklyn a six-point hole. The last-second push would prove to be enough to secure the victory, marking the Nets' second loss to Washington this month.

With the two-game road trip in the rearview, Fernandez and company shift focus to a David vs. Goliath-esque matchup against the Western Conference's best Oklahoma City Thunder. The out-of-conference clash is slated for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. EST. at the Barclays Center.

To access the final box score from the Nets' win/loss to/over the Wizards, click here.

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