Recap: Short-handed Wizards lose 112-100 to Nets in D.C. - NBA.com

The Wizards came into Monday night's game in D.C. looking to snap out of a tough stretch. Unfortunately, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were able to propel the Nets past the Wizards by a final score of 112-100. The Wizards have now lost seven straight games and 10 of their last 11.

In the first quarter, things were looking solid for the Wizards. With Bradley Beal out of the lineup again due to a right hamstring injury, the team needed someone to carry the offensive load. Kristaps Porzingis took that challenge head-on, scoring an impressive 12 points in the first seven minutes and helping the Wizards hang tight in the first period. After one, the Wizards were down 25-29.

In the second quarter, Kyrie Irving got hot, scoring 13 points in eight minutes, giving the Nets a big energy boost. Despite the push, the Wizards fought hard and didn't let go of the rope. Kyle Kuzma and Will Barton both answered the call in the second quarter, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Those two guys kept the Wizards in the game when the Nets looked poised to run away with it. At the half, the Nets held a 62-55 lead, but they were able to slowly extend that lead over the course of the third quarter thanks to a well-rounded offensive output. At one point, the lead got up to 17 points for the Nets.

With 3:37 left in the third quarter, Porzingis subbed out of the game and headed to the locker room. It was later announced that he would be out for the remainder of the game with back tightness. He finished the night with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field in only 24 minutes of action.

In the fourth quarter, Porzingis' offense was sorely missed as the Wizards struggled to get into any sort of rhythm. They scored just 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting from the field. They played tough on defense, allowing them to cut the lead down to single digits for moments at a time, but they could never truly get back into the game in a competitive way before the clock struck midnight.

"We're light on bodies," said Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. "It's tough without a handful of your rotation players. I'm hoping, at some point, in a weird way, this helps us."

A silver lining for the Wizards was the performance from veteran wing Will Barton, who had his best game as a Wizard, scoring 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field to go along with seven assists and seven rebounds. Hopefully, Barton can carry this momentum into the Wizards' upcoming road trip. They're short on bodies and will need all of the offense they can get.

"That's who I've been my whole career," said Barton. "I gotta just try to do my best to go out there and be aggressive no matter what."

Another bright spot was Jordan Goodwin. In his second consecutive start, Goodwin made a big impact on both ends of the floor, scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

Next up for the Wizards is a six-game road trip out West, starting in Denver on Wednesday night.

Adblock test (Why?)