WASHINGTON _ Coming off back-to-back games that were decided by buzzer-beating baskets _ one that fell their way and one that didn't _ the Nets played a game Friday night at Verizon Center that was notable only for the utter absence of drama. A hot-shooting Wizards team that has been on a roll in December finished the year that way with a 118-95 rout of the Nets.
The win was the ninth in the past 12 games for Washington (16-16) while the Nets (8-24) dropped to 1-16 on the road. The Wizards shot 56.6 percent from the field and dominated nearly every statistical category from rebounding (44-32) to points in the paint (50-32) to second-chance points (17-6) and fast-break points (14-6).
High-scoring guard Bradley Beal (ankle) did not play for the Wizards, but Trey Burke came off the bench to score 27 points and shot 10-for-12. John Wall had 19 points and 14 assists, and Marcin Gortat added 19 points and 13 rebounds. Trevor Booker led the Nets with 16 points and seven rebounds, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson also scored 16, Bojan Bogdanovic and rookie Caris LeVert each added 12 and Brook Lopez totaled 11 points and a team-high six assists.
Two days after playing one of their best defensive games of the season in Chicago, where they held the Bulls to a 39.8 percent shooting night, the Nets gave Washington's shooters the kid-glove treatment in the first half when the Wizards shot 57.4 percent. One problem was 11 Nets turnovers, which led to 10 Washington points and helped fuel a fast break that outscored the Nets, 12-0, in the opening half on the way to a 66-50 lead.
Otto Porter Jr., a potential free-agent target for the Nets in the summer, had it going early for the Wizards with 10 first-quarter points. But his hot hand paled in comparison to Burke's in the second period. Every one of Burke's seven shots found the bottom of the net, including four from three-point range as he totaled a season-high 20 points by halftime, all but two of them in the second quarter. As a team, Washington shot 66.7 percent from the field (14-for-21) in the second quarter.
After the Wizards pushed their lead to 21 points on a Gortat dunk in the third quarter, Booker scored five straight points to ignite a 10-0 surge by the Nets that cut their deficit to 76-65. But the Wizards responded with a 10-3 burst to push their margin back to 86-68 as Gortat and Morris worked inside.
