When John Wall’s electrifying drives, surprising three-pointers and bench-hurdling weren’t enough to get them going, the Washington Wizards had to tap into other sources to get past the red-hot Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night at Verizon Center. They found it in Drew Gooden and Al Harrington, a pair of aging reserves who provided a much-needed lift in the fourth quarter as the Wizards rallied from a 12-point deficit to pull out an emotional 101-94 victory.
Wall concluded the scoring when he recorded a steal and took off for a left-handed slam that sent the sellout crowd into a tizzy. The Wizards (35-31) completed a season sweep of Brooklyn and moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
As the final seconds ticked off, Wall held the ball screaming, “This is my city!”
Wall scored a game-high 33 points and had six assists, but his effort was almost in vain until Gooden scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Wizards have every intention of keeping Gooden for the remainder of the season after his second 10-day contract expires Tuesday, and he has certainly exceeded any expectations after being buried in Milwaukee last season before getting waived in July.
Gooden and Harrington didn’t play much in an overtime victory in Orlando on Friday, but they certainly had something in the tank on a night when starters Trevor Ariza, Marcin Gortat and Bradley Beal struggled offensively.
Beal started despite spraining his right ankle the night before in Orlando. Beal determined he was fit to go after warming up about 90 minutes before the game and didn’t appear hampered when he made his first two attempts from three-point range. His shooting cooled, however, and he missed eight of his 14 shots to finish with 15 points.
Wall exhausted almost every ounce of energy trying to get his teammates into the game in the third quarter, when he made three three-pointers, drew a charge and hurdled the Wizards’ bench in an attempt to save a loose ball. He scored 15 of the Wizards’ 24 points in the period, but the team still trailed by seven at the start of the fourth.
The Wizards didn’t start to look energized until the 34-year-old Harrington provided a spark. Beal missed a baseline jumper, but Harrington soared in for a putback jam. He added a nifty spin move and reverse layup. Then his steal led to a layup by Beal that brought them within 84-81.
Gooden took over from there, hitting a jumper, taking a pass from Andre Miller for a layup and then burying another long baseline jumper to give the Wizards an 87-86 lead. Harrington scored just six points, but he left to a standing ovation with the game tied at 92.
Nets forward Paul Pierce (15 points) made two free throws to give his team a 94-92 lead, but Gooden responded with a layup, then buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 2 minutes 37 seconds remaining to give the Wizards the lead for good.
The Wizards won the first two games of the series, taking advantage of the Nets’ early chemistry problems and Jason Kidd’s rookie coaching inexperience. But owning the tiebreaker won’t matter if they finish with an inferior record. The Nets (33-31) have had the best record in the Eastern Conference since Jan. 1 at 23-10. They arrived in Washington on a three-game winning streak, including an impressive road win Wednesday against the two-time defending champion Miami Heat.