WASHINGTON — Andray Blatche got the last laugh.
The 6-foot-11 forward had a terrific game in his return to Washington — where he played the first seven years of his career — scoring 13 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the Nets’ wild 115-113 double-overtime victory over the Wizards Friday night.
“I was nervous,” Blatche said with a smile following the game, in which the Nets trailed by eight late in the first overtime. “That was the one thing … I definitely didn’t want to come here and lose.”
The Nets didn’t lose thanks, in large part, to the contribution Blatche gave them off the bench. He also picked up four steals.
“I thought Andray was unbelievable,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “He couldn’t have given us a much better game.
“There’s a lot of people that would not have been able to handle the situation the first time back. He didn’t handle it, he thrived in it. It was unbelievable. He gave us defense, he gave us rebounds, he gave us scoring…. He did a great job.”
Blatche was booed heavily when he checked into the game for the first time at the 4:51 mark of the first quarter, as well as every time he touched the ball. He said he came prepared for the abuse after he was amnestied by the Wizards this summer before eventually signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Nets.
“The thing is, the booing didn’t affect me at all because I don’t play for them,” Blatche said. “They’re supposed to boo me. This was no different than the crowd when we play against the Knicks, so I’m already used to it.
“I expected it. I knew this was going to happen when I signed with the Nets. I knew when I went to D.C. this was going to happen. I had it in my head that it wasn’t going to affect me.”
* The Nets were without Kris Humphries, who sat after spraining his left ankle late in Wednesday’s win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City. With Humphries out, Mirza Teletovic got his first chance to play meaningful minutes in a while, and he took advantage, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and grabbing a couple of rebounds in just under eight minutes in the first half.
C.J. Watson (sore right knee) sat out for the second straight game. Jerry Stackhouse (sore right hamstring) made his return to the lineup and finished with three points in 14 minutes.