That was a very fun win for the Brooklyn Nets, and we can leave it at that.
It’s nice to watch basketball without expectations. Certainly, there are none left for the 2023-’24 Brooklyn Nets, who will not be playing postseason basketball in any form, and whose players are not in line for any award ceremonies at the end of the regular season.
Okay, “nice” may oversell it. The alternative would mean more wins, and thus, less misery, but when the Nets took on the Washington Wizards to complete their four-game road trip on Wednesday, it was just a run-of-the-mill NBA game between two teams whose spirits are already well into the offseason.
But meaningless? No, not even Nets fans are that cynical.
How could you be, watching Cam Thomas put up 24 points and six assists (and just one turnover) in the first half? No, the Wizards weren’t defending like the ‘96 Bulls but Thomas was hooping nonetheless. It’s not like Ron Harper could have defended this swish much better as evidenced by the stat-line, it wasn’t just a half of tough shot-making for the 22-year-old, but all-around offensive stardom. Thomas leveraged his jump-shooting into frequent adventures to the rim, which not only resulted in foul-shots but extra defensive attention.
The Wizards began trapping Thomas on ball-screens, as just about every other defense has after the All-Star break, and he made them regret it, calmly progressing through his reads like Patrick Mahomes in a clean pocket. Thomas credited his performance and overall growth to “just playing more,” when reflecting.
“If anybody isn’t playing much, then they get in for a few spurts, I mean, let’s be real, nobody’s looking to pass when they first get in. They’re looking to get some buckets. So it’s really just me playing more and knowing I have more opportunity to find the guys, instead of like the first two years, [where] I probably play a game, then don’t play for the next five, then play again.”
And yet, despite taking a 61-54 lead into the break, the Nets couldn’t separate from the Wizards. Perhaps the East’s second-worst team had found some newfound resiliency from a three-game winning streak, or maybe it was the Nets failing to clean up their transition defense until it was too late So, we got a high-scoring duel that went down to the wire in D.C., which may have been more stressful than purely entertaining if those pesky expectations were still around.
For the Wizards, it was the infamous Jordan Poole harnessing his powers for good. Or perhaps evil, if you were rooting for the Nets. He didn’t twist and slither his way into bad shot-attempts and turnovers, but rather mind-boggling swishes and assists, including 14 fourth-quarter points.
Luckily, they weren’t, and every bucket Thomas scored on his way to 38 points and seven assists was a delight. So too was Trendon Watford, who followed up a season-high of 19 points with a dozen on Wednesday, taking over for stretches of the second half. It was the best version of Watford, who introduced the whole Wizards roster to his left shoulder without turning it over once. He even hit two 3-pointers, again he would match Cam Thomas with 38 points of his own while dropping eight assists, and slapped the Nets around in the fourth quarter to the point where Brooklyn eventually had to double-team the man.
“It was great basketball,” said Kevin Ollie of the duel between the two dynamic guards. “You know, CT did a great job first-half, court-mapping, too. And then, when he started getting dealt with, he was getting off the ball too. That just shows growth in him. I believe he had six assists at half-time, so it just shows growth with CT and how he’s getting better.”
Brooklyn’s double-teams eliminated Poole from the final moments of a tie game, but as for his counterpart Thomas? Well, he wasn’t forcibly removed, but disappeared quietly, as the ball found Dennis Schröder’s hands instead. The German guard produced 21 points and eight assists on the night 8-of-19 shooting, but it was still strange to see him pound the rock so much down the stretch.
On the critical sequence of the fourth quarter, in a tie game both teams might have liked to see their leading man get more involved.
“I thought that was gonna be my first [game-winner]. That looked good too. I was really disappointed in that one,” said a smiling Schröder postgame.
Thus, onto overtime we went, where Brooklyn’s last-second hero kept balling. Due to a nasal fracture, Nic Claxton started the game with a mask, then took it off because it was just too uncomfortable.
“He’s just mentally tough,” said Ollie of his starting center. “He’s showing that he’s a leader and captain of our team, and you know, we need guys to continue to step up and be that. Not just talk about it, but be about it.”
And in overtime, Claxton was about it. He followed up his game-saving block in regulation with a dunk and two more blocks to start the final five, and Nets took off from there.
The ball found Cam Thomas’ hands once again, and he delivered with four quick points. Claxton hit another hook shot off a pass from Mikal Bridges, whose performance was again understated but at least effective on Wednesday, finishing with 19/6/4/2/2 on 7-of-16 shooting in 47 minutes.
Yet, Brooklyn almost blew their 120-114 lead in the final minute-plus. It took Corey Kispert missing a game-tying free-throw with ten seconds left to cement Brooklyn’s lead. Even then, Kyle Kuzma, who posted an impressive 24/6/10 line, had to miss a game-tying three to provide some breathing room.
And even then, Dorian Finney-Smith had to steal the ball at the buzzer after missing two free-throws to turn that breathing room into an actualized exhale but the Brooklyn Nets did it, winning back-to-back games for the first time since their consecutive wins over the Atlanta Hawks on February 29th and March 2nd, the last time their Play-In hopes felt truly alive.
With those having died a painful death, though, we could enjoy this thrilling, silly, weird win over the Washington Wizards. Cam Thomas hooped in all the ways his fans and coaches have been wanting to see from the moment he was drafted, earning praise from his guys.
Said Claxton: “It’s been beautiful watching him grow, and everybody is reaping the benefits of that.”
“That’s a max [contract] player right there,” said Schröder.
We even saw the rookies again; Jalen Wilson scored a fast-break layup, and even though Noah Clowney missed his four shot attempts, one impressive block was enough to salvage his night.
All we want from this Nets team, at this point, are moments.
Wednesday night’s win was a moment, at the very least. Not one that will live forever or even long, but one that made the decision to watch a 27-44 team play a 14-58 team worth it. It was an exhilarating game with plenty of inspiring moments, a reminder that any of the 500 best players in the world are fun to watch.
Oh, and so is winning. Winning is fun.
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