Wall, Beal propel Wizards in season sweep of Nets
WASHINGTON -- John Wall scored 22 points and Bradley Beal had 19 as the Washington Wizards concluded a four-game season sweep of the Brooklyn Nets with a 129-108 win Friday night.
Brandon Jennings had 18 points and nine assists off the bench for the Wizards (44-28), who shot 50.5 percent from the field, made 21 of 22 free throws and led by as many as 28 points. Washington has won two in a row after losing four of five. The latest victory moved the Wizards one game ahead of the idle Toronto Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference.
The loss snapped Brooklyn's first two-game winning streak of the season. Justin Hamilton scored 20 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 19 and Jeremy Lin had 14 for the Nets (15-57).
Brooklyn led 21-20, but never again after Washington's 31-8 run in the first half put the Wizards comfortably ahead. Bojan Bogdanovic, acquired by the Wizards from the Nets in February before the NBA's trading deadline, scored 17 points. Ian Mahinmi had 11 of his 16 points in the first half as the Wizards led 63-42.
The Nets scored 39 points and shot 16 of 22 from the field in the third quarter, but the margin never dipped below 15 points in the second half. That allowed the Wizards' starters to it out the fourth quarter.
Washington opens a daunting five-game road trip Saturday at the Cleveland Cavaliers before heading west.
Wall's status was unclear prior to the game as the All-Star skipped morning shootaround because of a migraine. He had nine assists in 24 minutes.
Owners of the league's worst record, the Nets had not won back-to-back games all season before this week. After knocking off the Detroit Pistons 98-96, Brooklyn throttled the Phoenix Suns 126-98 on Thursday as six reserves scored in double figures.
Jennings, signed as a free agent by Washington on March 1, revved up the offense in the second and fourth quarters. His two free throws gave the Wizards their largest lead at 59-31 and he scored 11 in the final period.
Defensive woes hampered Washington during its recent dip, but Brooklyn only shot 38.1 percent from the field in the first half before finishing at 52.4.
NOTES: The Wizards only committed 10 turnovers. ... Brooklyn's 39 points in the third quarter were the most allowed by Washington in any period this season. ... Washington is 0-2 against Cleveland this season, including a memorable 140-135 overtime home loss on Feb. 6. Cavaliers star LeBron James forced the extra session by banking a wild 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation. ... The Nets play at the Atlanta Hawks Sunday afternoon.