Nets remain in playoff hunt with win over Wizards
NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets rookie reserve guard Bojan Bogdanovic doesn't really know why he's finally contributing on a regular basis, but he's glad to be getting a chance as the NBA season winds down to the precious few games.
"If there was a game when I didn't score, I might have gotten down on myself," said Bogdanovic, who scored 22 points in leading the Nets to a huge 117-80 romp over the Washington Wizards Friday night at the Barclays Center. "Now, I'm getting my shots and I'm making them. We're playing very unselfishly and we're playing better defense."
Bogdanovic made all six of his 3-point attempts en route to tying his career high total. The 6-foot-8 Croatian sharpshooter, who has averaged 8.4 points per game this season, has scored at a 17-point-per-game clip over the last four games.
Center Brook Lopez continued his brilliant late-season play with 26 points and nine rebounds, as the Nets (37-42) remained tied with Boston for seventh place in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff standings with three games to play in the regular season. The Celtics, who beat Cleveland Friday, own the tiebreaker against the Nets. Lopez has now scored 20 or more points in seven of the last nine games.
Brooklyn, one of the hottest teams in the NBA, won for the 10th time in its last 13 games and is now 12-4 over its last 16. The Nets are also 6-1 in their last seven home games. The Nets now need just one win in their final three games to clinch a playoff berth.
Besides Bogdanovic, the Nets also received 14 points off the bench from guard Jarrett Jack.
"Our focus was dead on from the start of the game," said Jack, who helped the Nets own a 58-23 advantage in bench scoring. "It's easy for us when we're getting better shots. Myself, Bogie, we're able to make contributions off the bench. When the opportunity is there, we have to be aggressive."
Nets coach Lionel Hollins was impressed with the way his team gained control.
"We were executing well on offense and that played into it," Hollins said. "We had the guys come off the bench and provide some big scoring. Bogie gave us a huge lift. I think it's easier for everyone when we're sharing the ball. Everything was just better."
Guard Deron Williams had nine points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the winners. It was the largest margin of victory this season for the Nets. They committed a season-low six turnovers and collected 29 assists. The 42 points Brooklyn scored in the fourth period is its highest scoring quarter of the year.
The Wizards (45-34) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end, losing a chance to move into fourth place with Toronto in the conference standings.
The Wizards were led by guard Bradley Beal, who scored 24 points, and center Marcin Gortat, who added 21 points and 16 rebounds.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman was angered by the effort.
"It was a no-show," Wittman said. "That's my thoughts on the game. We had no rhyme or reason to what we were doing out there from the start. We play for real (in the playoffs) a week from Saturday or Sunday and I'm looking to see who I can trust in the playoffs."
The Nets took control of the game midway through the first quarter and cruised to the easy victory.
The Wizards scored the first five points of the game, then the Nets and Lopez simply took over, outscoring Washington 31-9 for the remainder of the first quarter to hold a 17-point lead after one period. Lopez had 14 points in the first quarter.
"We were able to play at a pace where we were able to grab the lead early," Jack said. "Even when they made a run (in the third quarter, slicing the early lead to 10), we were able to withstand it."
"A lot of nights, it's Brook early," Hollins said. "But every night is different. We just go out and try to execute. If we don't keep going, we go home. If we keep winning, we'll go to the playoffs. It's that simple."
"We have to go game-by-game, but we have to keep going and try to win our last games," Bogdanovic said. "We are already in good position, but we want to be in better position."
NOTES: Wizards coach Randy Wittman said that there was no plan as to when PG John Wall would be rested. "You go through your day-to-day routine and he said that he wasn't up to speed," he said. ... Nets G Alan Anderson was out for the fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle. "I don't know if he's coming back at all," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. ... Hollins said that there was nothing to read into about G Jarrett Jack playing with G Deron Williams down the stretch in Wednesday night's loss to the Atlanta Hawks. "It was a one-game thing," Hollins said. ... The Nets do not hold the tiebreaker with Boston, having lost the series, 3-1, but they do hold the advantage against Indiana, having won two of three.