Wizards pull one out of the bag to down Nets

WASHINGTON • The offensive potential of the "Big Three" of James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant makes the Brooklyn Nets the envy of their Eastern Conference rivals.

But the trade to capture Harden has made them defensively vulnerable on top of a weak bench.

Aware of their deficiencies, they brought back Iman Shumpert, signing the 30-year-old, who played for them last season, to a one-year deal over the weekend.

The veteran swingman averaged only 4.2 points last year but he is known for his perimeter defence.

Shumpert did not play on Sunday but it seems clear he will have a role to play as the Washington Wizards, the worst team in the East with a 4-12 record, posted an unlikely 149-146 National Basketball Association win over the Nets, second in the conference with a 13-9 record.

The Nets led by as many as 18 points at Capital One Arena with Joe Harris scoring 30 points, Irving 26 and Durant a joint game-high of 37. Washington's only lead was briefly in the second quarter before the frenetic final seconds that saw them overcome a five-point deficit in the final 12.3 seconds.

They managed to take advantage of the Nets' weakness in defence - they gave up 72 points in the paint, tied for their third most allowed in a game over the past 25 seasons and the most allowed in a contest since 2017.

Harris' turnover with 6.8sec left was a microcosm of the issues they have been having.

Garrison Matthews intercepted his in-bounds pass and passed to Russell Westbrook, who sank a go-ahead three-pointer over Irving with 4.3 seconds remaining.

Despite using two timeouts, the Nets could not level when Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot's lay-up rolled around and then out of the rim and Bradley Beal, who had 37 points on the night, hit two free throws for the final margin.

Nets coach Steve Nash called Harris' turnover "an unfortunate moment" but claimed it was not the reason for the loss.

"When you give up 149 points, that's one error in about 50 defensive lapses," he said.

"So not good enough defensively, and we can look at the missed lay-up or the turnover for the three there, but we shouldn't have been in that position.

"We had a big lead early, and we let them stay around a long, long time until their confidence grew."

In Minneapolis, Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards scored 23 points apiece to propel the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 109-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving the worst team in the West (5-14) just their third win in their last 17 games.

REUTERS