The Nets—had lost five straight games against the Wizards—got off to an explosive start at the Prudential Center in Newark, with big man Brook Lopez leading the charge.
The Nets outscored the Wizards 32–17 in the first quarter with good all-around scoring and Lopez finished the half with 12 points and would score 18 points for the night.
Reserve forward Travis Outlaw contributed 10 points at the half that ended 55–38 after the Nets had been up by as much as 23 points.
But things went sour for the Nets when Lopez came out after picking up his fourth foul in the beginning of the third quarter.
Point guard Kirk Hinrich gave the Wizards a burst of energy, getting steals and slicing through the Nets defense to quickly score eight points.
Gilbert Arenas followed Hinrich’s lead and shot 3–3 from beyond the perimeter to eventually help the Wizards pull within five points with Lopez still on the bench.
The Wizards rally continued into the fourth quarter tying the score at 75–75 three minutes into the quarter.
It was an impressive comeback with the team down three key players due to injury in John Wall, Andray Blatche, and Yi Jianlian. But the Wizards would never lead.
Harris rallied the Nets and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter alone. With the Nets up by one point, an offensive charge and technical foul against Arenas in the final minute sealed the Nets win.
The Wizards have now lost 13 straight road games, their worst losing streak on the road in 12 years.
