Nets stunned by late rally in loss to league-worst Wizards

Coach Steve Nash often says defense is not the Nets’ “forte,” and they reinforced his assessment yet again during a game in which they essentially traded baskets with the Wizards for 48 minutes Sunday night in Washington.

The NBA’s highest-scoring team paid for its inattention to guarding in a stunning 149-146 loss to the Wizards, who have the worst record in the NBA.

The Nets had a nine-point lead early in the fourth period, but the Wizards came back to tie it at 141 on a Russell Westbrook layup with 41.1 seconds remaining.

The Nets regained what appeared to be a secure 146-141 lead with 12.3 seconds left, but Bradley Beal hit a deep three at the 8.1 mark and the Nets’ Joe Harris then threw away an inbounds pass, setting up the game-winning three by Westbrook with 4.3 seconds left.

“It was just a dumb mistake on my part,” Harris said.

“I was trying to get the ball out quick and get it to Kevin [Durant], and it was one of those things where he was cutting to the rim and I was kind of throwing the ball where I thought he was going to be going. I had a timeout. I should have been more cognizant of it and just taken care of the ball.

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“Definitely, it was a big mistake on my part. Even though the defensive effort wasn’t great, we still should have won this game and a lot of it comes down to the timely possessions at the end.”

The Nets, whose total points were one short of the franchise record in regulation that they tied Friday in Oklahoma City, had a chance to win when Kyrie Irving threw a sharp inbounds pass to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot under the basket, but his point-blank layup attempt spun around the rim and fell off.

Irving wanted to inbound the ball to Durant, but he was double-teamed. “I was trying to use my eyes and my ball fake to get the defense to bite, and as soon as I saw them going to KD, I threw it straight to TLC,” Irving said. “He had a great chance to make the left-handed layup, but unfortunately, it didn’t go down. It’s not TLC’s fault.”

Durant topped the Nets (13-9) with 37 points, Harris had 30, Irving scored 26, and Jeff Green had 23 off the bench. The Nets shot 56.8% from the field and 52.8% from three-point range, but they committed 17 turnovers leading to 25 Wizards points. Westbrook had 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Wizards (4-12), Beal added 37 points, and the Wizards outscored the Nets in the paint by a whopping 72-34 margin.

The Nets played without James Harden, who had a left thigh contusion, but there also was an element of load management because he averaged 39.9 minutes per game since joining the Nets, who were completing the last of a three-game trip.

“I don’t think it’s too severe,” coach Steve Nash said of Harden’s injury. “I think it’s pretty manageable.”

The Nets led early by 18 points, but the Wizards came back to take a 57-56 lead on a three-point play by Beal with 3:40 left in the opening half. The third period was a shootout that ended with the Nets leading 108-101, and then the Nets allowed the Wizards to score 48 points in the final period.

I don’t know if we’ll get many wins if we allow 48 points in any quarter,” Irving said. “We had that game.

“It should’ve been ours, so we look at ourselves in the mirror and see what we can correct – especially on effort. I couldn’t guard a stick. Those guys were going right around me. But that’s what good scorers do.”

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.