The Nets’ past week is a reminder of the NBA’s unpredictability.
They beat one of the league’s best teams, the Rockets, not once but twice. Without Cam Johnson, no less.
Then after he returned, they got humiliated by the worst team in basketball.
Feb. 5, 2025. Jason Szenes for New York Post
The Nets suffered a 119-102 rout at the hands of the cellar-dwelling Wizards before a crowd of 16,035 at Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
The pro-tankers in the crowd were surely happy about this one.
The Nets snapped a season-best three-game winning streak, and threw away what should’ve been a fairly easy victory against the woeful Wizards (9-41).
Trailing by just five roughly midway through the third quarter, the Nets conceded an extended 21-3 run that spanned into the fourth.
This against a Washington team that had traded away Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valanciunas on Wednesday, but did not have their replacements — All-Star forward Khris Middleton and Sidy Cissoko — suit up at Barclays Center.
In short, it was a shocker.
Keon Johnson led the Nets with a game-high 25 points and six rebounds, but they allowed 54.3 percent shooting and 20 of 43 from behind the arc in a dismal defensive effort.
The Nets allowed the Wizards to slice up their defense. Washington handed out 40 assists, with Bilal Coulibaly posting a triple-double (11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds).
Johnson (ankle) and Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring) both played despite being linked in trade rumors, indicating they’re not likely going anywhere with the deadline at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Sharpe scored a layup to pull the Nets within 75-70 with 5:32 left in the third quarter. But the Nets then gave up a 21-3 blitz. Bub Carrington capped the run with a 3-pointer that left the Nets in a 96-73 hole with 10:17 to play.
Johnson finished with 17, but the Nets trailed by as many as 25 points and never made a run.
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