Deron Williams puts on show with record nine first half treys for Nets

Brooklyn, NY, United States (4E Sports) – Deron Williams finished with a franchise record 11 3-pointers in scoring 42 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 95-78 win over the Washington Wizards Friday.

He was not alone in the Nets lineup trying to break records. Reggie Evans, who was the team’s second leading scorer with 11 points and pulled down 24 rebounds, one shy of a Nets’ franchise record for most rebounds in regulation (the record is 27 rebounds made in a four-overtime game).

But it was Williams who had the hot hand.

In a matter of five minutes, Williams had pushed the Nets up on the Wizards 18-2 all by himself. He dropped six-straight threes as he started the game with a perfect 8-for-8, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range.

In fact, his first quarter production of 23 points outscored that of the Wizards’ 14.

“I made the first couple,” Williams said of his hot-hand early, “those shots where when they leave your hand, they feel like they’re good, so I just kept shooting.”

It’s not that the Wizards just let Williams take open shots. They had John Wall to keep Williams in check, and he couldn’t. Trevor Ariza also tried to stop Williams by sticking to him from the moment he crossed the half-court line. That didn’t work either.

“He was just hot,” Wall said of his attempt to check Williams. “He found a good rhythm in transition and was just feeling himself.”

Williams later got to the rim for some layups while also knocking down two more 3-pointers to set the NBA record for a half with nine. He finished the half with 33 points — tying his previous season-high and equaling the total number of points the Wizards had as a team— while going 12-for-15 from the field and 9-for-11 from 3-point range.

He set the franchise record with his 10th 3-pointer when he opened the second half with one, passing Vince Carter’s old mark of nine, and then hit the 11th with 1:39 remaining to pull within one of the NBA record currently held by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.

Williams got a wide-open look at No. 12 on the following possession, but it went long, one of the few shots that didn’t go down for him.

Meanwhile, Evans gave an all-around hustle performance on both sides of the ballcourt. It got to the point where Williams, who scored just nine points in the second half, had to step aside and let Evans bask in the glory.

Overshadowed by all the record setting attempts were the facts that the Nets shot just 39.5 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 18 times — 84 times overall in their last four games — and beat a team that has just five road wins on the season.

But what mattered most to Williams was the win.

“That’s the main thing. If I’d done this in a loss, it definitely wouldn’t have meant anything,” he quipped.

“All the records are good … [they're] good stories to tell your kids and grandkids when you get older. But I’m just after one, and that’s a championship.”

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