Wizards first quarter blitz sends the Nets packing at 97-77
The Washington Wizards built a 20-point lead inside the first nine minutes of the opening quarter to send the New Jersey Nets packing at 97-77 on Friday night at the Verizon Centre in Washington.
Credit should go to the Wizards for a brilliant defensive effort, and the fact that the team did not become too complacent during the third quarter, when New Jersey tried hard to make the score a respectable one.
Wizard’s head coach Flip Saunders said after the game, "That's the evolution of becoming a good team. The first thing is you win games at home. You beat teams you are supposed to beat at home and are competitive against the good teams.
Right now, we're at that first step."
High-Flying Players
Rashard Lewis registered a team-high 16 points, and a season-high 13 rebounds in the victory.
Lewis said, "My shot felt good coming into the game and I came out tonight and felt it early. It all came from defence. When you're getting stops, you can run out and John [Wall] is pushing the ball, the defence collapses in the paint and I was
wide-open on the perimeter.”
Nick Young scored 16 points, JaVale McGee had 15 points, while Andray Blatche scored 14 for Washington, who won just their ninth game of the season.
Brook Lopez and Jordan Farmar scored a team-high 14 points apiece for Nets, who lost the 26th
game of the season. Forward Derrick Favors had 12 points for New Jersey, who have lost six of their last seven games.
Game Story
The Wizards found their rhythm right from the off, and were leading 21-3 with less than five minutes to play in the first quarter. That opening blitz proved to be the difference on the night, as Washington dominated the Nets for the remainder
of the game. The Nets trailed 26-6 with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. They never were able to close the deficit to fewer than 12 points for the rest of the game. At the end of the first quarter they were leading 30-13.
Washington continued their impressive defensive performance into the second quarter, taking a 56-37 lead into half time.
New Jersey fought hard to get themselves back into the game in the third quarter. However, the Wizards took control of the game as the quarter progressed, and maintained a 86- 52 advantage heading into the final stanza.
With eight minutes to go until the final buzzer, Lopez's jumper made it 7-3 but the Nets went scoreless for the next four minutes. The Wizards took advantage of the opportunity, and went on a 14-0 run to seal the win.
"It's a struggle on the road - especially for a young team," New Jersey coach Avery Johnson said. "This team - they were looking for a little bit of life - the Wizards, and they came out rested and ready, and they played really well. But this
wasn't one of our best games, and the guys really should feel bad about this one."
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