Wizards squander lead but top Nets in OT
NEW YORK -- Otto Porter Jr. scored six of his 20 points in overtime after the Wizards blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead, and Washington escaped with a 114-110 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 31 points, and John Wall added 23 points and 12 assists, but it was Porter who made several key plays after regulation.
Porter, who finished with 10 rebounds, gave the Wizards a pair of one-point leads with put-backs and then hit the tiebreaking free throws with 81 seconds left in OT. Those foul shots staked Washington to a 109-107 lead, and Wall made it 111-107 at the line with one minute remaining.
A driving dunk by Bojan Bogdanovic made it a two-point game, but Porter came up with a key play when he tipped a rebound out of Randy Foye's hands. Beal wound up with possession and sank two free throws for a 113-109 advantage with 18.3 seconds left.
The Nets used their last timeout before Bogdanovic shot an airball on a 3-pointer that was long with 10.8 seconds remaining. Foye split a pair at the line with 7.5 seconds to play to make it 113-110.
Washington then committed a blunder out of the timeout when Wall went out of bounds trying to control his dribble following the inbounds pass. After a review, the call was upheld.
The Nets had a chance for the tie, but Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds to go. With 2.9 seconds left, Wall missed the first free throw but made the second foul shot, and the game ended when Foye's desperation heave from center court was well short.
Bogdanovic led the Nets with 21 points but shot 6 of 18 and missed seven of nine 3-point attempts. Brook Lopez added 20 points before fouling out late in regulation, and Trevor Booker contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Nets matched their season high with an 11th straight loss.
Before getting enough things done in overtime, the Wizards held an 84-72 lead in the opening minutes of the fourth but let it slip away.
The Wizards held a 100-98 lead on a dunk by Marcin Gortat with 1:34 remaining, but the Nets tied it on a short jumper by Bogdanovic with 41.9 seconds left.
With the game still deadlocked, Wall missed two layups with 30 seconds left and Bogdanovic missed a potential tiebreaking 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds remaining. The game reached overtime when Booker was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.
NOTES: Washington C Ian Mahinmi scored two points in 12 minutes. Mahinmi has missed 50 games this season with various knee issues, but coach Scott Brooks liked how he went through recent practices. "He's ready to play," Brooks said. "He's excited. He's worked extremely hard to put himself in this position." ... Wizards F Markieff Morris (calf) missed his second game of the season. ... Nets F Quincy Acy (sprained left ankle) missed his second straight game, and there is no timetable for his return. ... According to USA Today, Acy gave $250 gift cards to teammates and shoes to all staff members of the Texas Legends of the D-League after signing a two-year contract with the Nets.