Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Devin Harris scored 26 points, while Brook Lopez contributed 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the New Jersey Nets used a strong third quarter to destroy the lowly Washington Wizards, 115-88, at the Verizon Center.
Harris added seven assists and five boards for the Nets, who have won three consecutive games for the first time in more than two months. Vince Carter finished with 20 points and five assists. Ryan Anderson ended with 18 points and nine boards, while Keyon Dooling rounded out New Jersey's double-figure scorers with 14 points.
The Nets shot a season-high 61.3 percent from the field, shooting better than 60 percent from the field for the first time since March 2003.
Washington was paced by Nick Young's 21 points. Oleksiy Pecherov and Mike James each scored 13 points for the Wizards (10-39), who lost for the seventh time in eight games and are tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the worst record in the NBA.
Antawn Jamison, Darius Songaila, and JaVale McGee ended with 10 points apiece. Jamison pulled down a team-high six rebounds, but failed to capture his sixth straight double-double.
The Wizards' Caron Butler, who was among seven Washington players that didn't participate in the game, missed the contest due to the flu. That left Washington with just eight healthy players for the tilt.
The Nets, who held a five-point advantage at half, outscored the Wizards 35-18 in the third stanza to pull away and essentially seal the victory. New Jersey scored 11 unanswered points to start the frame. Harris knocked down a pair of shots from the charity stripe to end the spurt and extend the Nets' lead to 69-53.
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After Jamison cut the gap to 10 on a three with 7:31 to go in the period, the Nets used a 13-2 spurt to open up a 82-61 advantage with 3:03 to go. Carter, who had 11 points in the quarter, finished the run with a shot from beyond the arc. New Jersey took a commanding 93-71 lead into the final frame and never looked back.
Trailing 20-19 with 2:51 left in the first quarter, the Nets went on a 16-5 run, which carried over into the first 1:49 of the second frame. Dooling capped off the spurt with a three.
The Wizards didn't back down, though, as they responded with 11 unanswered points to take a 36-35 edge with 7:09 to go until the half. McGee culminated the run with a jumper, while Pecherov had seven points during the spurt.
Jamison made a layup with 3:16 remaining in the half to put the home team ahead by seven. But New Jersey responded with a 14-2 spurt to end the second frame and take a 58-53 lead into the locker room. Harris, who had 19 points in the half, contributed seven points during the run, which was capped off by a Lopez tip-in.
