Since entering the starting lineup for the Washington Wizards, Andray Blatche has played like an All-Star. Against the Nets, he played like a young Kevin Garnett.
Blatche exploded for a career-high 36 points on 17-of-31 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Wizards gave the Nets a reality check a day after beating the Celtics. Washington denied New Jersey its first winning streak of the season, outlasting the Nets, 89-85, at The Izod Center.
Although Blatche starred for 47 minutes, the final 60 seconds belonged to teammate Randy Foye. With the game tied, 83-83, and 44 seconds left, Foye knocked down two contested jumpers that gave the Wizards an 87-83 lead. The only points the Nets could muster in the final minute came on a Devin Harris layup as time expired.
Foye knocked down the late shot, but Blatche's performance left the biggest impression on the Nets.
"He was a man tonight," Devin Harris said. "He's been playing really well the last eight, nine games or so, and he's a tough match-up for our bigs. He's a big guy who can shoot, who can handle a little bit, and he's shooting at a high percentage."
"Blatche was great; he was on fire," Nets interim head coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. "It didn't matter, we tried all different guys on him. We tried double-teams, he was hitting outside shots, and if he's going to hit outside shots, he's tough to guard."
While the Wizards executed, the Nets blundered. After Foye's first jumper, Harris had a chance to tie the game, but the point guard missed a floater right in front of the rim. Following Foye's second jumper, Jarvis Hayes settled for a difficult jump shot along the baseline.
Prior to Foye's buckets, the guard was 2-of-11 from the field. That statline did not intimidate Foye down the stretch, however.
"It happens. Things like that happen and the biggest thing for me was, at the end of the game, just trying to be aggressive and make the right play to win the game," Foye said. "It happens, last game I was 8-for-11, you have ups and downs
After trading away Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Brendan Haywood, and losing Josh Howard to a torn ACL, the Wizards have found a way to stay competitive. Blatche has entered the starting lineup along with newly-acquired Al Thornton, who scored 20 points on the night. Washington has gone 4-3 with its new-look lineup.
"It's new to them," said Foye, talking about Blatche and Thornton's adjustment to new roles. "A lot of the things we're still doing, Al [doesn't] know 100 percent, but we've got other guys helping him and he's been doing the best he can do.
'It's been fun," Foye added. "It's fun to play with Al because he's a force on the post, he's a force on the perimeter. To play with two guys like that, who can play that way, is fun for me as a point guard."
"They've got a little bit different feel with Blatche being the go-to-guy," Harris said. "Obviously Randy Foye is still a pretty good player, and Al Thornton can score the basketball as well... They're athletic and they get up and down."
The Nets, on the other hand, could not keep the momentum from yesterday's impressive upset win over the Boston Celtics.
After leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, the Nets went ice cold in the final three quarters. Despite shooting 68 percent in the first quarter and embarking on an 18-1 run, New Jersey could not put Washington away.
The Wizards switched to a zone defense and the Nets zoned out on offense. New Jersey finished the game shooting 35.2 percent. The Nets led, 46-32, with 5:15 left in the first half, but the Wizards tied the game at 57 with less than five minutes gone in the third quarter.
"It was making us, for the most part, shoot outside jumpers," Brook Lopez said about Washington's zone. "They weren't falling down for us."
After Blatche knocked down a midrange jumper to give Washington a 67-65 lead with 43 seconds left in the third quarter, the Nets did not lead until Terrence Williams threw down a thunderous slam with 3:41 left in the game. The Nets could not hold onto that 81-79 lead, though.
For Lopez, this loss is a setback for the Nets.
"We still achieved a lot yesterday, but it's definitely a step back," Lopez said.
Yi Jianlian led the Nets' offense, scoring 20 points and hauling in a career-high 19 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end. Harris and Lopez scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, but shot a combined 15-of-44.
Terrence Williams came off the bench to spark the New Jersey offense, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 15 minutes.
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