Washington ? Larry Hughes matched his season high with 33 points and the Washington Wizards made a franchise-record 14 3-pointers in a 112-88 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night.
Vince Carter had a season-high 31 points on 15-for-23 shooting for the Nets. Jason Kidd added 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for New Jersey.
Hughes had seven assists and five steals to lead the Wizards, who got 3-pointers from seven different players. Gilbert Arenas and Jarvis Hayes each made three 3s as Washington surpassed its previous record of 12, set on Nov. 5, 2003, against Dallas.
The Wizards took an 84-74 lead early in the fourth quarter on back-to-back 3-pointers by Jared Jeffries and Juan Dixon, and a dunk off a steal by Hayes, who had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Hughes scored 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Wizards pulled away. They closed the game with a 13-0 run.
Carter had a couple of flashy dunks to lead the Nets to an 11-point lead in the third quarter. Kidd’s jumper put New Jersey ahead 64-53 with 7:19 remaining in the period.
The Wizards answered with a 12-1 run, capped by Arenas’ 3-pointer for a tie at 65. After hitting two more 3s, Arenas gave Washington a 75-72 lead with a dunk off a steal with 59 seconds remaining in the third.
Arenas finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Nenad Krstic scored four points as the Nets opened a 16-6 lead with a 10-0 run. Hughes and Jeffries each scored four points as the Wizards answered with an 11-2 run.
Kidd scored seven points in the Nets’ 9-0 run that opened a 37-31 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Wizards used a 9-2 spurt to take a 40-39 lead with 4:22 left in the first half. The Nets answered with a 9-0 run to go up 48-40. Then the Wizards closed the half with an 8-0 burst to tie it 48-all.
Notes: Wizards forward Kwame Brown underwent an MRI on Monday on his injured right ankle. “It showed that there’s no real damage there,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “It just depends on how sore (he is) and what he can take, as far as pain. This is day seven in a seven-day plan and it’s a little bit slow, so we’ll have to take it day by day.” Brown hasn’t played since Dec. 27 when he played 7 minutes against Charlotte. . . . Wizards reserve guard Steve Blake sprained his left ankle in the second quarter and did not return. . . . The Nets have scored 100 points only once in their past 25 games. … The Wizards sold “Tsunami Relief Bands” for a minimum donation of $2, with all proceeds going to UNICEF. The Wizards wore the wristbands during their game against the New Jersey Nets.
