Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from streak-busting win at Washington
By Phil Watson
B+. 32 MIN, 16 PTS, 5-for-11, 12 REB (6 ORB), fouled out, 1 STL, 2 BLK, +13. C. Brooklyn Nets. JARRETT ALLEN
Jarrett Allen missed the last two games for the Brooklyn Nets with an illness and when he got healthy, so too did Brooklyn’s interior defense.
Allen had a strong game at the defensive end, altering shots, turning back would-be attackers and getting a pair of blocks along the way. After the Miami Heat shot 35-for-51 in the paint on Wednesday, Allen’s return helped the Nets hold Washington to just 26-for-50 in that same range.
Offensively, Allen did a nice job getting to the foul line — he was 6-for-8 at the line — but still can be a bit tentative when not skying for a slam dunk. While his offensive footwork is markedly improved, he’s still got some work to do on both touch and body angles and positioning.
Brooklyn Nets. SPENCER DINWIDDIE. A. 31 MIN, 25 PTS, 8-for-13 (3-for-5), 4 REB (2 ORB), 8 AST, 4 PF, 3 STL, 1 TO, +7. PG/SG
Spencer Dinwiddie struck a terrific balance between creating opportunities for himself in isolation and creating opportunities for teammates, scoring a team-high 25 points with a game-high eight assists.
He was active defensively with three steals and paired well with D’Angelo Russell for some productive minutes, as well.
Dinwiddie absorbed a hard foul from John Wall in the final minute of the game — Wall was assessed a Flagrant 1 on the play — and missed both free throws while appearing to favor his right hand or wrist, which he landed on awkwardly.
It may be nothing, but it was also noticeable that all of Dinwiddie’s post-game handshakes that were caught by the YES Network cameras were with his left hand, as well. Fingers crossed, people.