The Nets hot streak apparently doesn’t apply against Washington.
Brooklyn blew a late lead in a 107-99 loss to the tanking Wizards at Capital One Arena on Monday, their second defeat at the hands of the worst team in basketball.
Clinging to a 95-92 edge with 5:39 to play, the Nets gave up an 11-2 run and never recovered.
Brooklyn (21-36) came in having won seven of nine, but got thoroughly outplayed by the NBA-worst Wizards.
They suffered their second loss to Washington this month, and saw the Wizards snap a six-game losing skid in the process.
Combined with Chicago handing Philadelphia an eighth straight defeat, the Nets dropped 1 ½ game behind the Bulls for the final Eastern Conference play-in spot, but kept them one below the fading 76ers for the sixth spot in the draft lottery standings.
Ziaire Williams led the Nets with a team-high 19 points and three steals, with Cam Johnson adding 17.
The Nets came out playing abysmal defense, falling behind by 14 points right out of the gate. Richaun Holmes’ running dunk put the Nets into a 21-7 hole just 4:59 into the game.
Coach Jordi Fernández had seen enough and called a timeout and yanked his entire starting lineup off the floor. He had done a line change in the Olympics with Team Canada that didn’t work out, and he was roundly criticized for it.
A Trendon Watford and Tyrese Martin-led bench sparked a comeback, albeit a short-lived one.
Down 67-59 at the break, the Nets scored the first seven points of the second half to get within one.
Then the Nets mounted a 20-7 run later in the third to seize the lead. Watford found Williams for a 3-pointer that put Brooklyn up 81-74 with 4:07 left.
But after the Nets allowed a 14-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters, the final stanza was feisty.
Martin and Khris Middleton got into it right after the Washington guard missed a 3-pointer in front of the Nets bench.
The Nets were clinging to a 95-92 edge, but gave up a 14-4 run to end the game.
Bilal Coulibaly put Washington ahead with a layup. Then Jordan Poole (game-high 26) buried a long right-wing 3-pointer to make it 101-97 with 2:38 to play. Poole’s 19-footer sent the Nets scurrying for a timeout. But it didn’t help.
