Deron Williams with a record-setting night, hitting 11 threes; Oh, and the Nets beat the Wizards, 95-78

BROOKLYN - The Washington Wizards entered tonight's game against the Nets with a 5-22 record on the road. Yes, five road wins and we're a week into March. What could possibly go wrong. Cut to, dot-dot-dot...

Nothing. Nothing could go wrong. Not with the way Deron Williams was shooting the ball, on this record-setting night. Williams made his first seven 3-point attempts in the first quarter, and dropped nine total threes in the first half, scoring 33 points. From there, he went on to make two more, scoring 42 points and leading the Nets to a 95-78 victory over the Wizards.

Oh, and Reggie Evans. I mean, he was fantastic, with 24 rebounds and 11 points.

Game Flow

One strength for the Wizards this season has been their defense, entering the game ranked 6th in the NBA in defensive rating. The Nets, on the other hand, have been struggling out of the All-Star break, turning the ball over at an alarming rate -- 66 over their previous three games.

Brooklyn, led by Deron Williams' back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-back threes, got off to a hot start offensively, out-scoring the Wizards 22-2 to start the game. Williams, in less than five minutes had 18 points. Yup, 18 points.

Williams continued his out-of-his-mind performance, hitting his first seven three-point attempts, on his way to 23 points..in the first quarter! After one, the Nets led the Wizards 38-14.

The Nets cooled off a little in the second. That was, before they re-inserted Deron Williams into the game. He continued to stroke the ball, hitting his 9th three in the half, a Nets record for most threes in a game and NBA record for most in a half.

At halftime, Williams had 33 points... and so too did the Wizards! The Nets led 59-33.

Naturally, Williams started off the half by....hitting a three-pointer. His 10th of the game, setting a team record for most threes in a game -- a record once held by Vince Carter.

The Wizards did everything in their power to limit D-Will's looks, switching from John Wall to Trevor Ariza on the defensive end. It didn't work.

The Wizards did make a bit of a run, pulling to within 16 points at the end of three, 74-58. It was just too much D-Will and, believe it or not, Reggie Evans, who through three quarters was the team's second leading scorer (8 points) and already had pulled down 21 rebounds.

In the fourth, it was merely a matter of trading buckets with the Wizards, and whether or not Williams could walk away with the NBA record for most threes in a game. He needed two. He got none. Ended the night with 11 threes, and a win, 95-78.

Reggie Evans finished the game with 11 points and 24 rebounds, probably the best game he's played all year, despite the fact that he missed 11 free-throw attempts.

For more on the Wizards, see: Bullets Forever

• Wizards at Nets - March 8, 2013 - Box score - NBA.com
• Video: Deron Williams makes seven straight threes... in the first quarter! - NetsDaily
• Williams' 11 3s, 42 points lead Nets past Wizards - Brian Mahoney - AP
• Wizards vs. Nets: First half (Video) - NBA.com
• Williams is on Fire (Video) - NBA.com
• Wall's And-One (Video) - NBA.com
• Post Game Plus: Nets blow past Wizards 98-78 (Video) - Bob Lorenz - YES Network
  
• Williams on Nets' win and his three-point NBA record (Video) - Sarah Kustok - YES Network
• Reggie Evans on victory and his career-high night (Video) - YES Network
  
• Deron Williams talks about his record-setting night (Video) - YES Network
• P.J. Carlesimo on Nets' win and Williams' record game (Video) - YES Network
  
• Deron Williams hits NBA record nine 3-pointers in first half, finishes with 42 points as Brooklyn Nets beat Washington Wizards, 95-78 - Stefan Bondy - NY Daily News
• Nets’ Deron Williams Hits 11 3’s and Scores 42 in Win - Zach Schonbrun - New York Times
• Deron Williams sets Nets record with 11 three-pointers - Mark Herrmann - Newsday
• Deron cans 11 3-pointers as Nets blast Wizards - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Nothing’s free from the charity stripe for Nets’ Evans - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• On this night, one-third of P.J’s Big Three is more than enough - George Willis - New York Post
  
• Williams Can't Miss, Nets Can't Lose - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
  
• Nets Just Cannot Hold On to the Ball - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
• Rapid Reaction: Nets 95, Wizards 78 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Standing O for Reggie Evans - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Deron Williams hits 11 three-pointers as Nets beat Wizards, 95-78 - - Andy Vasquez - The Record
• Deron Williams Sets NBA Record: 9 1st-Half 3s! - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
  
• DERON WILLIAMS EXPLOSION: Nets 95, Wizards 78 (Game Grades) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
• Rapid Recap: Nets 95, Wizards 78 - Jim Mancari - SNY Nets
• Deron Williams and Reggie Evans Have Career Nights and Lead Nets to Victory - Moke Hamilton - SNY Nets
• Evans Shines, But Should #Nets Be Concerned With Hack-a-Reggie? - Derrel Johnson - SNY Nets
  
• Nets vs Wizards Recap: Deron Goes Off - Ed Boulanger - Nets Take Over
• The Nets Snap Four-Game Home Slide, but Deron’s Back Hurts - Kenny Ducey - WFUV Radio
• Wizards vs Nets recap: Williams en fuego Washington falls 95-78 - Thomas Pruitt - Bullets Forever
• Brooklyn Nets tickets - TiqIQ
• First half game thread - NetsDaily
• Second half game thread - NetsDaily