The Washington Wizards had a win for the ages on Sunday, and it has left people wondering if the Brooklyn Nets have what it takes defensively to win a NBA Championship. At one point, Washington was down by 18 points, but somehow and some way, they found a way to come out with a high-scoring 149-146 victory.
The game received ‘legendary’ status for what happened in the final 12 seconds of the contest. With 12.3 seconds left, the Nets were comfortably leading by five points, 146-141. However, it would take Bradley Beal 4.2 seconds to successfully hit a three-pointer. Then after a Garrison Matthews steal on a pass attempt by Nets small forward Joe Harris, Matthews passed the basketball to Russell Westbrook, who nailed another three-pointer. When Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot of the Nets missed a layup, and Isaac Bonga of the Nationals got the defensive rebound, the Wizards put the game out of reach thanks to two free throws by Beal.
The Wizards only won their fourth game of the season, and have not met expectations by any means. Russell Westbrook was supposed to make a huge difference, but entering the game, the Wizards were 11 games below the .500 mark at three wins and 14 losses.
On Sunday, Westbrook was the difference. He scored 41 points, and had a double-double as he also notched 10 rebounds. Fans did not have an opportunity to see a battle between former teammates James Harden and Westbrook, as Harden was out with a thigh contusion.
Nothing against Luwawu-Cabarrot, but if the Nets are relying on a third-year journeyman who has only averaged 6.3 points per game to get their game-winning shot, they are in trouble. More is expected from the Nets, and at 13-9, they are not meeting expectations.
For FREE!
