National Basketball Association

Wizards score first 20, pull away late to beat Nets 120-111

Published Apr. 11, 2016 11:55 p.m. ET

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NEW YORK (AP) Ramon Sessions had 21 points and 12 assists, and the Washington Wizards recovered after blowing all of their 20-0 lead to beat the Brooklyn Nets, 120-111 on Monday night.

Marcus Thornton scored 19 points as he and Sessions did just fine in replacing injured starting guards John Wall and Bradley Beal. J.J. Hickson had 15 points as Washington put seven players in double figures.

The Wizards made their first nine shots before Brooklyn made one and looked headed for a blowout victory. Instead, they needed another big run in the fourth quarter to finally put it away.

The Wizards have won two straight since being eliminated from playoff contention and can finish .500 by beating Atlanta in their season finale.

Shane Larkin scored a career-high 20 points and added seven assists and six rebounds for the Nets, who have lost nine in a row and have their first 60-loss season since a franchise-worst 12-70 record in 2009-10.

A night after giving up 129 points in Indiana, the Nets were most defenseless again, allowing Washington to shoot 52 percent from the field.

Marcin Gortat won the opening tip and then made the first basket 23 seconds in to start the early onslaught. Washington scored inside and out, with another basket by Gortat, making it 20-0 before the Nets snapped their 0-for-8 start with Chris McCullough's 3-pointer with 7 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. Gortat had Washington's first miss on the next trip, and the Nets steadied themselves and cut it to 34-28 after one.

They took the lead late in the second before Kelly Oubre Jr. took a long pass and beat the buzzer from beyond 30 feet to give Washington a 70-69 edge.

It was close straight through the third and the Nets were down only three early in the fourth before a 13-4 run expanded Washington's lead to 116-104.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Wall has a sore right knee and Beal injured his pelvis after playing just eight minutes in Sunday's victory over Charlotte. ... Washington went 3-0 against Brooklyn this season. ... The Wizards are 5-0 when Sessions has seven or more assists and 3-0 when he starts and scores 15 or more points.

Nets: Brooklyn had a season-high 37 fast-break points. ... Forward Thomas Robinson missed the game with a sore right knee. ... Bojan Bogdanovic, the only Nets player to start all three games against Washington, scored 20 points.

NOT LOOKING AHEAD

Nets interim coach Tony Brown said the Nets' young players are still being evaluated and was asked if he still believed he was by new general manager Sean Marks.

''I can't answer that. I really can't,'' Brown said before the game. ''We've got two games left. I feel like the situation has been tough from the beginning, I've tried to make the best of it and I'm going to continue to do that the last two games and whatever happens, happens. I'm not worried about my fate with this organization.''

UP NEXT

Wizards: Host Atlanta on Wednesday

Nets: Host Toronto on Wednesday.