Washington, DC – Joe Johnson made a jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining in the second overtime to lift the Brooklyn Nets over the Washington Wizards, 115-113, on Friday.
Johnson ended with 18 points for the Nets, who improved to 4-1 under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Brook Lopez had 27 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Deron Williams added 24 points and 10 assists for Brooklyn, which went 25- of-36 from the foul line. Andray Blatche tallied 13 points and 12 boards against his former team.
Bradley Beal finished with 24 points and six rebounds for the Wizards, who have lost four in a row and 12 of 13 games. Jordan Crawford and Nene added 23 and 20 points, respectively.
"We turned the ball over," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We got doubled, we wouldn't pass. Why? I don't know. We missed free throws. Why does that happen? I don't know why. We did. It's making one play down the stretch, one play."
Washington seemed destined for victory after scoring the first eight points of the first overtime.
However, Brooklyn fired back with an 11-0 run to take the lead. After Crawford missed two free throws, Lopez grabbed a big defensive rebound and was fouled immediately by Nene. Lopez made both foul shots to give the Nets a 102-101 lead with 14.1 seconds left. Following Crawford's missed jumper, Williams made two free throws to give the visitors a three-point margin.
The Wizards took a timeout with 3.4 ticks remaining to draw up a play. Beal got the ball and made a 3-pointer to send the game into a second overtime.
Brooklyn started the second overtime on a 7-2 spurt. Keith Bogans' three-point play and layup made it 111-106 with 3:21 to go.
Washington kept the back-and-forth battle going by scoring the next three points. Emeka Okafor's free throw and Kevin Seraphin's layup cut the gap to 111-109 with 1:38 remaining.
Lopez stopped the brief flurry with a pair of free throws. However, Lopez's turnover on Brooklyn's next possession led to two Seraphin free throws. Beal made a pair of free throws following Williams' missed jumper, tying the contest at 113 with 9.1 seconds to go.
Johnson responded with an 18-foot jumper to put the Nets back in front. Crawford's 3-pointer was off the mark as time expired.
"In that situation, man, I'd seen the double team coming and I just took one hard dribble and pulled up for a jumper," Johnson said.
The Wizards led by as many as 10 in the first quarter and took a 30-20 lead into the second.
Despite leading for the duration of the second stanza, Washington was outscored by a 32-25 margin in the period. The Wizards took a 55-52 lead into the locker room.
Washington continued to lead throughout a tight third stanza. They took a 79-78 edge into the fourth.
Crawford's jumper tied the game at 91 with 56 seconds left in regulation. The Wizards had a chance to go in front after Lopez was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing Brooklyn possession. However, Garrett Temple missed a layup.
Lopez redeemed himself with a putback slam to put the Nets in front with 3.2 seconds to go. At the other end, Nene tied things up again with a hook shot.
Williams' long 3-pointer was off the mark as time expired.
Game Notes
The Wizards lost two of three meetings with the Nets last season ... Temple had eight points and a career-high 11 assists ... Brooklyn was without guard C.J. Watson (bruised right knee) and forward Kris Humphries (sprained left ankle) ... The Wizards fell to 3-13 at home this season ... Blatche was let go by Washington last summer after seven seasons with the team.
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