CJS Press Box

Taking an early lead at Barclays Center is a reviving feeling for the Brooklyn Nets’ fans starved for wins – especially one that started two minutes in and held for the rest of the game. The Nets led by as many as 34 points to secure a 127-114 win against the Washington Wizards. 

Timing made the win feel telling. On Thursday night, Feb. 7, both the Nets and the Wizards entered the game near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, just two days after the trade deadline. Refreshed, young, and still searching for the rhythm, the matchup between the league’s two youngest teams – the Nets, averaging 23.96 years old, and the Wizards, 24.33 – offered a glimpse into their futures: which franchise may be further along in its rebuild? 

The answer came clearly and quickly: the Nets dropped 46 points in the opening quarter, breaking the franchise’s season high for points in a period and marking the most since putting up 47 against the Detroit Pistons in 2023. 

“I think they were playing extremely hard and with purpose,” said head coach Jordi Fernández after the win, reflecting on the 80-point first half. He praised the second group for contributing on both ends of the court and making smart plays throughout the game. “That’s the one that gave us the win,” he added. 

Both sides had fully rotated their bench players eight minutes into the first quarter. Within two minutes, the Nets added 11 points. Noise swelled to a peak as rookie Danny Wolf finished the run with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, pushing the bench’s total to 23 points, while the Wizards’ bench had just managed three free throws.  

The tone for the first half was set: the Nets’ bench kept the Wizards on their heels, limiting most of their chances to free throws. 

“You look at a lot of the games in which we didn’t do well, and the outcomes showed that we started super slow, lackadaisical,” said Wolf in the post-game press conference. “And I think tonight, the message was there shouldn’t be any distractions anymore, and this is who we are.”

Rising from a shooting slump, Wolf showed his potential beyond the 16 points made: the seven rebounds and six assists, three of which went to the 5th-year Nets veteran Day’ron Sharpe, with whom he spent the entire 19-minute court time. 

If one play captured the spirit of the night, it was Sharpe’s one-foot alley-oop dunk in the fourth quarter, delivered off a pass from Wolf. Two bench players combining for the highlight of the game said everything about how the Nets’ depth carried the game. 

Sharpe credited Wolf for their growing chemistry on the court in his locker room interview and said that Wolf’s “versatility” – whether handling the ball or reading plays – had helped him open up his own game and find more opportunities inside. 

Although the Wizards picked up momentum in the second half, outscoring the Nets in both quarters and led by forward Will Riley’s career-high 27 points, the Nets’ bench play maintained the gap. The late push from the Wizards couldn’t match the Nets’ early lead that held firm, still finishing 14 points behind – the smallest margin since the first period. 

It wasn’t surprising that the Wizards’ comeback fell short, as the free-throw line repeatedly became their only avenue to close the gap throughout the game, at one point reaching an impressive 96.3% accuracy. Still, relying on fouls to generate points showed the team’s low ceiling, especially compared with the Nets’ consistent output – the Wizards’ inability to create plays kept them from building momentum beyond the line, scoring in doubles or triples like their opponent. 

Now that the Nets swapped positions with the Wizards in the Eastern Conference standings, they’ve showcased their growing depth and chemistry – with 56 bench points – as they step forward. 

But the current Wizards weren’t the true test for the Nets. They were shorthanded with four injuries on the roster, and major trades for big-name players were still pending – including Anthony Davis and Trae Young, both of whom are still dealing with injuries. 

The Nets were dealing with smaller roster changes. Instead of major trades, they had waived three players, and before the game against the Wizards, two fresh faces had just arrived in the borough: Ochai Agbaji from the Toronto Raptors and Josh Minott from the Boston Celtics. 

Minott opened up about his sudden transition to the Nets during the pre-game press conference, talking about contributing his defensive strengths, getting to know the team, and finding ways to make an impact. 

Fernández echoed those engagements from the newcomers after the game, “[They were] Cheering for their teammates, asking questions – that buy-in is important because you can see guys ready to play whenever their number is called, that’s gonna happen pretty quick,” Fernández said, adding that internal competition pushes everyone to improve and be prepared. 

“I love my teammates. I love the guys we got in the locker room, and this is the group we’re gonna have for the next 30 or so games, and excited to go to work with them every night,” said Wolf, sharing his optimism for this iteration of the team. 

*This story was originally reported following the Nets’ Feb. 7 game