Saturday’s Tank Bowl made two things clear.
The Nets haven’t quit under Jordi Fernandez.
And Washington’s tank is going strong even after trading for Anthony Davis and Trae Young.
Brooklyn snapped a three-game losing skid with a resounding 127-113 rout of the Wizards before a sellout crowd of 17,548 at Barclays Center.
Or at least, the makeshift lineup the Wizards chose to field.
The Nets (14-37) had lost nine of 10, a slump during which they became only the fourth team in history to suffer multiple 50-point defeats in a season.
They snapped that malaise in style, leading by as much as 34 and putting up one of the highest-scoring halves in team history before holding on in the second.
It came against a thoroughly outmanned foe, in a victory many of their pro-tanking fans would deem pyrrhic.
Brooklyn entered the game fourth in the lottery standings, just a game behind both Indiana and New Orleans/Atlanta, and one ahead of Washington.
Some questioned how dealing for Young and Davis — who have 14 All-Star berths between them — would impact the Wizards’ tank.
The answer clearly is not much.
If at all.
While Washington coach Brian Keefe wouldn’t confirm an Amazon report that Davis might miss the rest of the season (“I can’t confirm that, no,” he said), both stars sat out along with eight other Wizards.
They suited up just eight players, started a pair of two-ways, and the Nets rolled to an easy laugher.
Though it may not be funny if the lottery doesn’t go their way.
The Nets put seven scorers in double figures and shot 54.9 percent.
Michael Porter Jr. had 23 points and six rebounds, while Day’Ron Sharpe added 19 points and nine boards in just 19:38 off the bench.
Nolan Traore had 15 points and four assists, while fellow rookie Danny Wolf added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Brooklyn led 77-43 on a Porter layup with 1:19 in the half.
Brooklyn led 46-20 after one, their highest output in any quarter since April 5, 2023 in Detroit, and most lopsided period since outscoring the Warriors by 29 back on Dec. 21, 2022.
The Nets’ 80 points at the break was their fifth-highest scoring first half ever, and most since putting up 91 in that outburst against the Warriors.
They got outscored 66-47 in the second half, Washington rallying behind rookie Will Riley (27 points) but Brooklyn held on.
Danté Exum, Jaden Hardy, Tre Johnson, D’Angelo Russell, Cam Whitmore, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly all sat for the Wizards.
