The Nets had been rocked by a trade demand from one of their stars for the third time in less than a year.
Then, Cam Thomas put together a star turn, carrying the Nets to a come-from-behind 125-123 victory over the Wizards before a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center.
Thomas poured in a game-high 44 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter. That helped the Nets, who had been stunned by Kyrie Irving’s trade demand, erase a 23-point deficit and pull out a victory.
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The Nets trailed 123-122 with 12.2 seconds left, when Thomas drew a foul on Deni Avdija in the act of shooting. After a review, it was determined that Daniel Gafford had committed goaltending on the shot. After Thomas hit the and-one, the Nets had a lead they never gave up.
Monte Morris missed two from the charity stripe with 7.1 seconds left and the Nets held on.
Even the stoic Thomas had to smile.
“We (were) down by a lot, 18,” Thomas said. “I knew I had to come in and be aggressive.”
Shocked by the Irving news — and already playing with an injury-riddled squad — the Nets (32-19) had just eight available players at one point.
The Nets are 5-7 since Kevin Durant sprained his right MCL on January 8. Irving — who hadn’t been listed on the initial injury report — was a late scratch with what the team called right calf soreness. The Nets also played without Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren, and lost Seth Curry and Markieff Morris during the game.
“This is one of the gutsiest wins I have ever seen in my time of watching basketball,” former Nets star Richard Jefferson said during the YES Network’s coverage of the game.
“To be short-handed, to have one of your best players request a trade, to have your young players come out and have career-highs, to have two players go out in the middle of the game. You’re watching this, no Markieff Morris, no Seth Curry, two of your veterans and your young players come back and carry you. It was so impressive.”
In the absence of injured Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis scored 38 to lead Washington (24-28), but fouled out late in the fourth quarter.
Irving is just the latest Net to try to remove himself from the team. Former MVP James Harden forced a trade to Philadelphia last February 10 and Durant requested a trade over the summer. And now Irving has left Brooklyn both shocked and shorthanded.
Edmond Sumner had a career-high 29 points starting in place of Irving.
The Nets started off horribly, falling behind 44-21 with 49.9 seconds left in the first quarter on a Kendrick Nunn free throw.
The Wizards still led 84-64 after a Porzingis foul shot with 8:44 left in the third. But the Nets used a 13-0 run — capped by consecutive Patty Mills 3-pointers — to cut the deficit to seven. That’s when Thomas dragged them across the line.
At 21 years and 114 days, Thomas became the third-youngest player to score 40-plus points off the bench in NBA history.
The Wizards led by as much as 23 points late in the first quarter, with the Nets only taking the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter with just under six minutes remaining. It was a similar story for the Wizards 24 hours earlier when they surrendered a 20-point lead to Portland in Washington.
As per ESPN Stats & Info, the Wizards are the first team over the past 25 seasons to lose games when leading by at least 20 points on consecutive days.
PELICANS DOWN LAKERS AS JAMES MOVES CLOSER TO RECORD
The New Orleans Pelicans have snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 131-121 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, even as Lakers superstar LeBron James crept closer to the NBA all-time scoring record.
Brandon Ingram shook off a scoreless first quarter to lead the Pelicans with 35 points. CJ McCollum added 23 and Trey Murphy added 21 as New Orleans turned the tide against a Lakers team that scored 72 points in the first half and led by 12 midway through the third quarter.
James scored 27 points and now needs 36 to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387.
He’s averaging more than 30 points per game this season and could well achieve the summit next week when the Lakers host Oklahoma City on Tuesday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
But even with history beckoning the Lakers remain in dire need of victories, and missed a chance to gain on the Pelicans as they both chase a spot in the play-in tournament.
“We’ve got to win these games,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham. “We had full control of the game.”
Lakers star Anthony Davis scored 34 points against his former team.
The Pelicans trailed by eight late in the third quarter when McCollum drove for a basket. New Orleans stole an inbounds pass and Jose Alvarado made a three-pointer to pull the Pels within three heading into the fourth.
“It’s tough,” Ham said. “Their push was basically all energy. That one (third) quarter gave them life.”
Midway through the fourth, Murphy connected on back-to-back three-pointers as New Orleans took a six-point lead on the way to their first win since January 13.
— AFP
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was republished with permission.
NBA SCORES FROM GAMES TODAY
Washington Wizards 123 – BROOKLYN NETS 125
Los Angeles Lakers 126 – NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 131
PHOENIX SUNS 116 – Detroit Pistons 100
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 134 – New York Knicks 128 (OT)
Portland Trail Blazers – Chicago Bulls
Miami Heat – Milwaukee Bucks
Houston Rockets – Oklahoma City Thunder
Dallas Mavericks – Golden State Warriors
Atlanta Hawks – Denver Nuggets
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