Kevin Durant’s crossover, Cam Thomas’ return and super small ball as Nets rout

WASHINGTON — Daniel Gafford was on the floor, and Capital One Arena was on its feet.

In the first quarter of the Brooklyn Nets’ 128-86 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night, Kevin Durant had his signature moment of the season. He drove down the court at Gafford and pulled up, only to finish a crossover and causing Gafford’s legs to slip, split and hit the floor.

he just did THAT pic.twitter.com/ofPtBq22rJ

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 4, 2022

Wizards fans got up to salute the hometown kid as he swished a midrange jumper to finish the sequence. It sent the entire Nets roster into pandemonium. Yuta Watanabe skipped down the court in celebration while Day’Ron Sharpe had to be restrained. Others put their hands on top of their head. Nets interim coach Jacque Vaughn later said he’s happy the camera didn’t get his reaction. When asked for his vantage point in the postgame news conference, Royce O’Neale whistled.

“That was tough,” O’Neale said. “I think you saw everybody’s reaction. I mean, it is a great play, great player.”

Frame it ? pic.twitter.com/bPhjqoX1q2

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) November 4, 2022

Durant, who grew up in Prince George’s County, Md., less than 10 miles from the arena, reminded the local crowd of the player they watched star at Montrose Christian before he headed to the University of Texas and then global stardom. And the sequence reminded the league that even with just Durant clicking, the Nets can still find ways to grind out wins.

KD with no Kyrie or Simmons:

28 PTS
9 REB
11 AST
+35

W. pic.twitter.com/T6QwK6mxxD

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 5, 2022

The 6-foot-10 forward finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, flirting with his first triple-double of the season and putting the Nets at 3-6 as they head into a Saturday night game in Charlotte against the Hornets.

Here are five thoughts on the 42-point win, which matched the largest margin of victory in a road game in franchise history:

Quite the defensive showing

The Wizards aren’t a three-headed monster offensively, but the Nets held them to just 29 points in the second half, an impressive feat for a defense that has spent the first few weeks of the season in the league’s cellar. The Wizards shot just 23.5 percent on 3-point attempts, and the Nets had eight steals and seven blocks. Nic Claxton had three of those rejections. The Nets forced 14 turnovers on the Wizards for 15 points.

“I feel like we never stopped talking defensively tonight,” Watanabe said.

The communication showed. Vaughn said the coaching staff showed only one defensive clip at halftime. It was of the team in shell coverage with everyone ready to back up as the help defender.

“You saw multiple times multiple effort from guys where they are coming over from the low man, then scrambling out and still making contests,” Vaughn said. “So, when you are small, you have to make multiple efforts. … Showing for each other,…