Even if you understand the upside of it, nobody likes tanking. Plan A is always to root for your favorite team, see it win, and eventually have it go on to win the big one. That’s how sports fandom works in an ideal world.
Nets World, however, is anything but. And today, with Brooklyn playing the Washington Wizards, who mirror Brooklyn with a young roster and 1-11 record, tank-related musings were downright unavoidable.
That said, everyone on the floor played or coached with the intention of winning. It wasn’t a clean game by any means, but I still think Herm Edwards would be proud.
The Nets began it starting Egor Dëmin, Terance Mann, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, and Nic Claxton for a fifth straight game. Despite a sloppy start that included four turnovers in the game’s first five minutes, the Nets hung with the Wiz Kids, as both teams canned five threes and finished the first quarter tied 28-28.
Brooklyn turned it over again on during their first possession of the second half, but also got three straight makes from Drake Powell, who again starred as the marquee rookie. The UNC product had two strong finishes inside maneuvering around Washington’s sneaky length at the defensive end along with a jam. He finished the game with six points, an assist, a steal, and four rebounds after shooting 3-6 from the field.
Soon after that sequence, Brooklyn went up 46-38 after MPJ found Tyrese Martin at the top of the key for a triple. The man nicknamed “never swing the rock” was doing so again for a second straight game, recording seven assists tonight, tying the career-high mark he set on Friday vs Orlando. While everyone’s naturally a bit more focused on rookie player progression this season, it’s been fun to see the 27-year-old Porter Jr. leverage the newfound attention he’s drawing as a No. 1 option on offense. He also tacked on 34 points by the end of the night, shooting 11-18 from the field and 3-8 from downtown.
Martin would soon have more to offer, but the Wizards punched back with an 8-0 down the stretch of the second. However, it came at the expense of Alex Sarr’s availability, who picked up his fourth foul with 2:15 to play in the period. Without their leading scorer on the season, Brooklyn stayed ahead 63-53 at halftime, overcoming 11 turnovers leading to 16 Washington points by that point. After not leading at the break once all season, the Nets did so for back-to-back games. They also shot 58% from the field in the first two periods, giving them their highest field goal percentage in a half all season.
Sarr returned in the second half, although he probably shouldn’t have. He picked up his fifth foul with 8:42 to go in the third, reintroducing himself to the bench and Claxton to a more vulnerable paint. Clax put in seven points in the period’s first five minutes, keeping the Nets in front even as the turnovers continued to stack. He tallied 17 points, and flirted with a triple-double, also grabbing eight boards and dishing seven assists. Claxton also rejected a season-high four shots.
But the Nets, who’ve been accused of playing their veterans too much rather than giving their young guns more minutes to develop, saw the Wizards do exactly that in the third. There, C.J McCollum added 14 points in the quarter, at one point helping Washington cut it to one.
However, Brooklyn again had a rebuttal, this time in the shape of Tyrese Martin. Taking over some ball-handling duties at the end of the frame, he got Brooklyn seven points in just four minutes while shooting 3-3 from the field. He also got some help from Day’Ron Sharpe in the process…
Noah Clowney began matching his production as the fourth quarter opened up, hitting two quick threes. The second gave the Nets their largest lead of the ball game with 10:27 to play. Martin even helped him get a third a few minutes later as well…
A steal and slam at the other end eventually gave Martin and the Nets a 20-point lead with just under eight to play. Martin finished with a season-high 20 points while shooting 8-12 from the field and 3-6 from deep. He also rejected a career-high two shots after recording just 10 total blocks in his prior 88 games.
Kyshawn George, who like Sarr, saw his minutes stunted by foul trouble, snuck in a three and then a layup right after to make it a 13-point game with about eight to go. But whatever comeback attempt Washington looked ready to make lost its momentum right after, as Sarr finally fouled out, making a transition take foul on Terance Mann in the backcourt.
Things looked in danger of getting chippy for really no reason after Mann, who was sitting on the floor after the foul, squeezed Sarr’s leg with his feet, prompting Sarr to stand over him and loudly express his not-so-great opinion of act. But after everyone shot their free throws and moved on, the both teams seemed content on letting this one wind down.
Both Brooklyn’s and Washington’s two-ways soon took the floor, and the Nets wrapped both hands around their second win of the season. It might not feel like one come May, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Final: Brooklyn Nets 129, Washington Wizards 106
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The Nets will host the Boston Celtics for the first time this season on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center. Then, they’ll play them again, up in the TD Garden on Thursday evening. Brooklyn hasn’t beat Boston since March of 2023, when they stormed back from down 28.