Nets’ Offense Stalls in Loss to Eddie Jordan’s Wizards
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WASHINGTON – Eddie Jordan was back on the sidelines for the Wizards after missing two games recovering from a blood clot in his left leg that hospitalized him on Thanksgiving, and Washington beat his former team, the Nets, 95-68 last night.
“It’s great having him back,” said Gilbert Arenas, who had a season-high 30 points, seven rebounds, and five assists to lead the Wizards to their fifth victory in six games.
The Nets made a franchise-low 20 of 64 field-goal attempts (31%) and 27 of 45 free throws (60%). They also tied their franchise low with seven assists. The Nets’ 68 points were the third-lowest amount the Wizards have allowed in franchise history.
“That’s not the kind of performance we expect from ourselves,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “I don’t know what to say. Obviously, we got what we deserved tonight.”
Antawn Jamison added 18 points and nine rebounds as Washington posted its largest winning margin of the season. Larry Hughes had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Eric Williams led New Jersey with 17 points, and Travis Best added 16.
“Tonight we just didn’t have it,” Jason Collins said. “We still have a lot of things on this team that we need to fix.”
The Wizards also welcomed back forward Kwame Brown, who played for the first time this season after having surgery August 3 to repair a broken bone in his right foot. His first jumper of the season gave the Wizards a 57-42 lead with 8:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Brown opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back buckets and finished with six points and two rebounds in 14 minutes before being ejected, along with the Nets’ Collins, for an altercation with 6:48 left in the game.
Reserve Anthony Peeler scored seven straight points early in the fourth quarter to keep Washington comfortably ahead.
Arenas scored seven points in the Wizards’ 11-3 run as they took an 18-12 lead late in the first quarter.
The Nets took a 7-0 lead while the Wizards missed their first five shots. But the offense struggled mightily from that point on.
Besides losing the game, the Nets also lost Zoran Planinic with six minutes remaining in the second quarter with a broken left hand. Nenad Kristic also went to the locker room after injuring his right knee with 1:49 left. After the game, Kristic said he was OK.
