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Wizards hit back in Brooklyn, win 99-90

Today's Wake-Up Call takes a look at how the Wizards took control in a decisive third quarter, beating Brooklyn on the second night of a back-to-back as Marcin Gortat and Nene sent a message to the Nets frontcourt.

By Ryan Gracia Jan 18, 2015, 11:33am EST

1. Wizards beat Nets, 99-90

Washington avoided another letdown, taking a win in Brooklyn to avoid getting swept in the home-and-home series. The Wizards' frontcourt took the loss in D.C. to heart and played with some much-needed attitude to make life difficult for Mason Plumlee and Brooke Lopez this time around. The Wizards are back in the win column and will look to make it two in a row when the 76ers come to town tomorrow.

To the recaps!

2. Marcin Gortat, Nene impose themselves

It's been a while since we've seen a dominant performance from Gortat. Last night's wasn't imposing either, but he did grab a game-high 16 rebounds to go with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Nene scored a team-high 20 points for the Wizards in the win. After the previous game's debacle, those two wanted to show that it was just a fluke and a quick bump in the road that could be easily fixed.

3. Wizards working on staying strong down the stretch

To our enjoyment, one of the themes of the year's team has been their ability to win games. Unfortunately, another theme of this year's team has been their inability to grab a lead and extend it enough to the point that there are no worries about needing to use any starters in late-game situations. Games where the starters have been able to comfortably rest in the fourth quarter have been few and far between, though the team needs to make sure that happens more often if they want to be in prime health heading into the postseason.