NBA: Rui Hachimura stars as Wizards take down Nets again
Rui Hachimura #8 of the Washington Wizards hangs on the basket after dunking in front of LaMarcus Aldridge #21 of the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Barclays Center on February 17, 2022 in New York City. Adam Hunger/Getty Images/AFP
Rui Hachimura scored 13 of his season-high 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Washington Wizards recorded a 117-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Hachimura made 6 of 7 shots in the fourth, when Washington made 16 of 18 shots and outscored the Nets 39-25 after blowing a 13-point lead in the third.
Rookie Corey Kispert added 16 points and sank four of Washington’s 12 3-pointers as the Wizards beat the Nets for the second time in eight days. Ish Smith added 15 points and Deni Avdija contributed 13 as the Wizards shot 55.4 percent.
Thomas Bryant, Raul Neto and Anthony Gill chipped in 12 points apiece for Washington.
A night after matching the largest comeback in franchise history by overcoming a 28-point deficit against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, the Nets lost for the 12th time in 14 games.
Patty Mills scored 17 of his 22 in the first half and rookie Cam Thomas added 20 overall, but the Nets shot 40.4 percent and were outscored 54-28 in the paint. LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 16 points while Jevon Carter chipped in 14 for Brooklyn.
Rui Hachimura #8 of the Washington Wizards looks to pass around Kessler Edwards #14 of the Brooklyn Nets during the second half at Barclays Center on February 17, 2022 in New York City. Adam Hunger/Getty Images/AFP
The Nets held a 28-26 lead through the opening quarter after Carter hit a 16-footer at the buzzer. Andre Drummond’s dunk capped a 14-4 run and put Brooklyn up 46-41 with 5:09 remaining in the half, but Washington countered with a 14-5 run and took a 55-51 halftime lead after Kyle Kuzma hit a layup with 24 seconds left.
Washington scored the first nine points of the second half and took a 64-51 lead on Neto’s 3-pointer with 9:05 remaining. Brooklyn stormed back to outscore the Wizards 27-14 the rest of the quarter for a 78-78 tie.
Gil and Kispert hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to put Washington up 86-80 with 10:25 left. Washington regained its double-digit lead when Kispert’s 3-pointer made it 93-83 with 8:12 left.
Aldridge’s 3-point play got the Nets within 101-94 at the 4:22 mark; but, less than a minute later, Hachimura’s dunk gave Washington a 106-94 edge.
After Hachimura committed an offensive foul, Thomas hit a short jumper to make it 106-100 with 2:31 left. Smith answered with a 3-pointer 18 seconds later, and Avdija hit a transition dunk with 1:55 left to essentially seal it.
