The Wizards lost, 119-118 to the Brooklyn Nets, but they didn’t play badly. Despite the absence of Kevin Durant, and a bad game from James Harden, the Nets got a terrific performance from their other All-NBA level performer, Kyrie Irving. That’s depth.
Even with Durant out of the game, the Wizards were underdogs in this one. Quality play off the bench from Deni Avdija, Rui Hachimura and Montrezl Harrell made it an entertaining game with a wild finish.
The three-headed center rotation, pioneered by former head coach Scott Brooks, was productive again. The combination of Daniel Gafford, Thomas Bryant and Harrell went for 28 points on 12 field goal attempts, had 14 rebounds (including 7 on the offensive glass), 4 assists and 4 blocked shots.