Wizards vs. Nets final score: Washington gets back to .500 in 118-95 win over Brooklyn

The Washington Wizards defeated the Brooklyn Nets 118-95 on Friday night, which gets them back to .500 with a 16-16 overall record. This is also the Wizards eighth straight win at the Verizon Center and second win of the season against the Brooklyn Nets this season.

The Wizards came out looking strong, starting the game on a 7-0 run. However, they didn’t really exert their will on the game until the second quarter, when the bench stepped up to increase the Wizards’ lead. Jason Smith, Marcus Thornton, and especially Trey Burke came through for the Wizards in the second quarter as the team shot 66.7 percent from the field while opening up 16 point lead at halftime.

Washington’s defense fell off a little bit in the third quarter as the Nets put a little run together cutting the lead down to 11 midway through the quarter. That proved to be the jolt the Wizards needed, as they got it together and pushed the lead back up to 17 shortly after.

In the fourth, the Wizards’ offense got lazy at times, but they cleaned it enough to pull away with the easy win. Washington is back in .500 column and the confidence of John Wall and spreading throughout the rest of his teammates. The Wizards are definitely on the right track to becoming a strong playoff team.

Here’s what else we noticed in the win:

Burke leads the bench to a big night

Trey Burke scored a season-high 27 points, going 5-5 from long distance and 10-12 from the field, but he wasn’t alone. The bench rest gave great production and ended the night with 47 points.

Wall caps off a strong month

John Wall finished his strong play in December with 19 points and 13 assists in the win. It’s clear he’s playing with a strong chip on his shoulder. His on court awareness has continued to grow and it’s showing every night.