WASHINGTON _ Without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the Nets, in all likelihood, will fall in the opening round of the playoffs.
But let's face it: they must avoid Milwaukee for even the longshot chance of advancing.
What that means for the Nets is finishing at least seventh, which would pit them in a first-round series against either the Raptors, Celtics, Heat or Sixers. The Bucks are running away with the conference, along with the NBA's top record, at 50-8.
The Nets (26-30) appeared in good shape for much of this campaign _ fluctuating between the sixth and seventh seeds _ but now find themselves in a dogfight with the Magic to avoid No. 8.
Wednesday's 110-106 loss to the Wizards, which was sealed when Spencer Dinwiddie's potential game-winning 3-pointer clanged off the rim, was not a good night for that pursuit.
The Nets, coming off Monday's collapse defeat to the Magic, came out sluggish and trailed by as many as 18 in the second quarter. But they stormed back in the second half on the back of Caris LeVert, who finished with a season-high 34 points on 10-of-20 shooting.
But Bradley Beal came alive in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, and Jerome Robinson hit their go-ahead bucket on an open 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds remaining. The Nets collapsed on Beal at the top of the key, leaving Robinson wide open for the winner. On the next possession, Dinwiddie was isolated against Davis Bertans, created ample space with a step-back dribble, but the shot fell short.
The Nets have lost three of four and were just one game ahead of the Magic, who played later Wednesday against the Hawks.
For LeVert, who missed 25 games this season because of thumb surgery, the effort was the next step in his progression. The 25-year-old's biggest issues are injuries and inconsistency, but he's now strung together a nine-game stretch of high-powered scoring.
"I knew it was there," Atkinson said. "It wasn't like a progression where he went from struggling to all of a sudden a spark went off. I'm not sure how that evolved. That's just the truth. Getting him into the starting lineup helped his confidence, but he was struggling for a while.
"Of course, you want more of a sample size," the coach added. "You want to see it continue. I think that's Caris' next step is to stay healthy and then do it for a longer period of time. I knew it was coming because I know the player. As long as he stays healthy, he's just going to keep getting better."
Atkinson made it a priority to stop Beal, by far the Wizards' most dynamic force who is averaging over 30 points per game. It worked until the fourth quarter, when Beal dropped 17 of his 30 points.
"I don't think you can give him a steady diet," Atkinson said. "Coaches have different philosophies but we have been more willing to experiment this season whether it's with blitz or zone or bringing our big up in coverage. I feel more confident doing that with this group. So we'll definitely give them different looks tonight."
The Nets blitzed Beal on the Wizards biggest possession, and it cost them an open 3-pointer from Robinson.
