Wizards 89, Nets 74
WASHINGTON -- Nene had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Washington Wizards outscored the Brooklyn Nets 30-11 in the second quarter, pulling away for an 89-74 victory on Friday night.
Martell Webster had 16 points and John Wall 15 points and nine assists for the Wizards (14-35), who swept their three-game homestand. Washington has won eight of its last nine at the Verizon Center and improved to 9-7 since Wall returned on Jan. 12.
Defensively potent throughout, the Wizards limited the Nets to a season-low 32.9 percent from the field and without a basket for nearly 9 minutes in the first half. Entering the game ninth in scoring defense, Washington has held eight straight opponents under 100 points.
Deron Williams scored 20 points and Joe Johnson had 14 for the Nets (29-21), who had won two straight and dominated teams with losing records all season. Brooklyn made two free throws inside the final minute to avoid its lowest-scoring game of the season, but finished 19 of 32 from the foul line.
Washington's own scoring drought of more than 6 minutes in the third quarter during a 14-0 Brooklyn run allowed the Nets to creep closer at 62-53. A.J. Price's 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in the quarter ended the scoring skid and the Wizards led by double digits the rest of the game before the crowd of 19,614.
The first quarter had 10 lead changes, the final one on Bradley Beal's banked 3-pointer, which put the Wizards up 21-20. It also started a 22-2 run highlighted by Nene's offense and stellar team defense as Washington led 40-24 with 4:24 remaining in the second quarter.
In that stretch Nene scored eight straight points and 10 in the quarter, one less than the Nets, collectively. The Brazilian big man's jumper sent Washington into halftime leading 51-31, its largest halftime lead of the season.
Nene finished 9 of 13 from the field and recorded his fifth double-double on the season and his second in as many games.
After Andray Blatche's layup with 26 seconds left in the first quarter, the Nets went 8:50 without a field goal, missing 12 straight attempts.
Washington's eight recent home wins have come against teams with winning records, including all three on this homestand. Washington defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn by an average of 11 points.
In the first meeting this season, Brooklyn survived a double-overtime thriller in Washington, 115-113.
Emeka Okafor's fade-away jumper with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter gave Washington its largest lead at 62-39. The Wizards did not score again until Price's 3-pointer.
Brook Lopez scored 13 points for the Nets, but missed eight of 11 shots. Williams finished 7 of 20 from the field.
Notes: Beal, who scored 24 points in the first meeting against the Nets, missed his previous five games with a sprained right wrist. ... Brooklyn entered 18-1 against teams with a record below .500 at the time of the game. ... Jordan Crawford, Washington's second-leading scorer, did not play after getting only 11 minutes total in the previous two games. ... The Nets, Wizards and all NBA teams playing on Feb. 8, Chinese New Year's eve, wore warmups shirts honoring the holiday. ... The Nets host the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. The Wizards start a two-game road trip Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
