Nolan Traoré Showcases Clutch Gene in Nets Win Over Wizards

The Brooklyn Nets came through with a 121-115 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday in a tanking melee.

There were many times throughout the game where it looked like the Wizards could earn their second victory since Feb. 22, but the Nets' rookies spoiled the party.

Nolan Traoré knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter, followed by Drake Powell stripping the ball from Jamir Watkins' backside to take it in for the Eurostep layup.

Traoré and Jalen Wilson provided the knockout punches down the stretch of the game, with Traoré getting downhill with the driving layup amid heavy one-on-one defense.

Rookies don't often have the luxury of playing in the most pivotal moments of NBA games, where legends are made.

Although you can certainly make the case that most Nets rotational players were out of the lineup in this one, their rookies still got a tremendous opportunity to get their feet wet and get realtime reps of how to handle the highest pressure moments of ball games.

"I think it's a great opportunity, especially for younger players, always having an opportunity to not only be in the game but get to be an impact in the game," Wilson said. "You can never take advantage of games in the NBA, no matter how many years you've played. I think cherishing each game, giving it your all each game, is important, especially for guys who are trying to build this foundation. build themselves in the league, and they've done a great job doing it."

The Nts jumped out to a quick start in this one, leading 35-23 after the first quarter and jumping out to a lead as large as 17. However, Washington's offense found holes in the Nets defense, which allowed them to come back late and make it a game.

"We couldn't contain the drive," Nets coach Jordi Fernández said. "We couldn't protect our paint and if you look at points in the paint, they beat us right there 58 points in the paint like we want to keep it at 50 or less, but it was not good enough and starts with containing the ball but not just one player, it's got to be five men on string so we didn't do a good job."

Traoré led Brooklyn with 23 points on 7-of-18 shooting and seven assists. Wilson added 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting.