NEW YORK (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 27 points in his first game since signing a three-year contract extension, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Washington Wizards 125-118 on Friday night for their season-best fourth straight victory.
Joe Harris added 19 points for the Nets, who put up a season-high 70 points in the first half but had a 16-point lead trimmed to four in the fourth quarter.
Dinwiddie halted Washington's run with a basket and some free throws, and Harris added some clutch baskets down the stretch as the Nets held on to send the Wizards to their fourth straight loss.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Nets, who shot 52 percent from the field.
Bradley Beal had 31 points and nine assists for the Wizards, while John Wall had 17 points and 13 assists.
Dinwiddie finished right at the 27 points he averaged in the first three games of the win streak. He had a career-high 39 off the bench Wednesday in Philadelphia and the next day agreed in principle to the extension worth about $34 million.
His layup with 42 seconds left was the last basket of the third quarter and gave the Nets their largest lead of the game at 101-85. The Wizards cut it to four a few times, the last when Beal's basket with 4 ½ minutes left made it 113-109, but the Nets scored nine straight to push the lead back to 13.
Washington held the Nets to a season-low 88 points in a Dec. 1 home victory but couldn't slow them down this time.
Brooklyn jumped to a 7-0 lead but Washington shot 59 percent in the first quarter, regrouping to take a 31-27 lead. The Nets scored 43 points in the second, used a 10-2 run to open a 12-point lead, and led 70-59 at halftime. They were 5 of 7 from 3-point range in the period.
TIP-INS
Wizards: F Otto Porter Jr. missed the game with a bruised right knee. ... Markieff Morris scored 15 points and Austin Rivers had 14.
Nets: Allen Crabbe, who has been starting in place of Caris LeVert, missed the game with a sore right knee. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Crabbe had banged it and expected it to be a short-team absence. ... Rookie second-round pick Rodions Kurucs of Latvia made his first career start and scored 15 points.
REMEMBERING
The Nets held a moment of silence before the game for Tim Bassett, who died Sunday at 67. Bassett played from the Nets from 1975-79, winning an ABA championship in 1976 and serving as the team's captain when they moved to the NBA and New Jersey.
DINWIDDIE'S DEAL
The Nets announced that Dinwiddie had signed his extension Friday afternoon after the sides had agreed in principle a day earlier. The 6-foot-6 guard came into the game averaging a career-best 16.9 points and the Nets believe he can continue to improve the way he has in the previous two years.
"I don't see why he can't keep trending upwards," Atkinson said. "He's got all the tools."
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Lakers on Sunday.
Nets: Host Atlanta on Sunday.
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