WASHINGTON — Cam Thomas returned from a one-game absence on Wednesday against the
Washington Wizards and his torrid scoring pace continued. Dennis Schröder, Nic Claxton and Mikal Bridges each had decent offensive games in their own right, at least in terms of efficiency. But throughout certain stretches of the Nets’ 122-119 defeat of the Wizards, it felt like it was Thomas versus everybody. Brooklyn was down multiple bodies against Washington, so that was not necessarily a bad thing, either. Thomas, who finished with 38 points on 14-of-27 shooting, was obviously not met with much defensive resistance inside Capital One Arena on Wednesday night. But Jordan Poole , who had averaged 18.3 points in three straight Washington wins, did step up and attempted to match the production of his fellow young scoring guard. Both players have been polarizing this season for different reasons; Thomas for his fluctuating role and Poole for his inconsistent play. Thomas’ 24 points and six assists helped the Nets to a 61-54 halftime advantage. He became the first Brooklyn player since Deron Williams in 2012 to record those numbers in a first half. But the next 12 minutes belonged to Poole, who built on a 4-of-8 start with 12 points on 4-of-6
shooting in the third quarter to trim their deficit to one entering the final frame. Thomas and Poole had both eclipsed the 30-point mark with 5:09 left in regulation. Poole’s fifth 3-pointer of the night gave the Wizards a 107-106 advantage with under four minutes to play. And while that jumper was not enough to get Washington to the finish line, it did spark inspired play that kept Brooklyn at bay in the clutch. Schröder’s game-winning 3-point attempt missed long in the final seconds of regulation, so the dual between Thomas and Poole would have to be decided in overtime. Poole outscored Thomas 14-4 in the fourth quarter, but Thomas came alive in the extra session, connecting on a 21-footer then a 16-footer to put Brooklyn back up 118-112. Poole’s first bucket of overtime did not come until the 1:44 mark, a slashing layup through the heart of Brooklyn’s defense. However, this game would ultimately be decided by a pair of Corey Kispert free throws. He split a pair with 13.5 seconds left, which led to a foul and Schröder knocking down both of his free throw attempts at the other end. The Wizards had one last chance to force a second overtime with nine seconds left and the ball, of course, wound up in Poole’s hands. And although he got one hell of a look at the tying basket, his long 3-pointer ultimately rimmed out, ending his night with 38 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and his 59th loss of the season. Brooklyn, which shot 48% in the win with just eight turnovers in the win, improved to 28-45 and has now won two games in a row. It is now five games behind the Atlanta Hawks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with nine games left. Washington saw its three-game winning streak snapped with the loss. Thomas and Poole combined for 39.3% of the total points scored among starters between both teams. The Nets will return to Barclays Center on Friday to face the
Chicago Bulls.