Sunday's matchup with the Washington Wizards presented a golden opportunity for the Brooklyn Nets. Trailing the Wizards by one game for the league's worst record, a loss would have given the Nets a realistic chance to finish No. 1 in the draft lottery standings, guaranteeing they pick no lower than fifth.
Brooklyn let that opportunity slip through its fingers during the final minutes of a 121-115 come-from-behind win.
The Nets trailed 105-101 with 3:30 remaining but closed the game on a 20-10 run. Nolan Troare hit two threes and a driving layup during the game-deciding stretch, finishing with a career-high 23 points. Jalen Wilson and Drake Powell also contributed clutch buckets.
The Nets knew the assignment entering Sunday's matchup. With Michael Porter Jr., Egor Demin, Day'Ron Sharpe and Danny Wolf ruled out for the season, they sat Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, Ziaire Williams and Terance Mann. However, the Wizards elevated their tanking urgency to another level during the anticipated matchup.
Washington had only eight available players on Sunday: Will Riley, Bub Carrington, Anthony Gill, Juju Reese, Leaky Black, Jamir Watkins, Jaden Hardy and Sharife Cooper. They played only six players for most of the game, with Hardy logging 14 minutes and Cooper, one of their top available shot creators, playing just three.
Black, Reese, Gill and Watkins each played over 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the Nets were noticeably fresher down the stretch, with no player logging over 30 minutes.
How can Nets preserve top three lottery odds following win over Wizards?
Sunday's win dropped the Nets to third place in the lottery standings. The bottom three lottery slots all have equal chances of landing the No. 1 pick (14.0 percent) or in the top four (52.1 percent). However, with the NBA's easiest remaining schedule, Brooklyn's ability to remain in the top three is in doubt.
After Sunday, the Nets have one more win than the Indiana Pacers in second and two fewer than the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz, who are tied for fourth. Brooklyn's remaining schedule features a pair of matchups with the Milwaukee Bucks and meetings with the Pacers and Toronto Raptors.
The Nets' magic number to clinch top three lottery odds is three. If they lose three of their remaining four games, they'll guarantee themselves a bottom-three finish. If they go 2-2, they'll need the Kings and Jazz to win one of their remaining games.
Sacramento will play the Golden State Warriors twice before closing the season against the Portland Trail Blazers. Utah will play the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.
If the Nets finish tied with one or more teams, all their draft lottery combinations (1,000 possible four-number combinations) are merged, then split evenly. If the number of combinations cannot be split evenly, a coin flip is used to decide which team receives the remaining combination(s).
