NEW YORK -- At halftime, one of the options for Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks was yelling at his team to express how frustrated he was with a lack of defensive intensity.

Yelling was not necessary since his players were aware of what went wrong defensively and how to correct it.

It was just a matter of actually doing it.

John Wall collected 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Wizards improved their defense in the second half and rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit for a 118-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Monday.

Bradley Beal added 18 points for the Wizards, who outscored the Nets 67-47 in the second half. Otto Porter Jr. also had 18 while Markieff Morris contributed 16 as Washington (7-12) set season highs with 17 steals and 35 points off turnovers.

"He didn't really yell at us," Beal said. "We just kind of took it upon ourselves before he came in. We were just talking and we knew we had to pick up our energy and he came in and reinforced it. It wasn't about him screaming at us or anything."

The reminders about defense occurred after the Wizards allowed a season-worst 66 points before halftime by allowing the Nets to shoot 56.5 percent. What unfolded in the opening moments of the second half eventually put the Wizards in a position to make plays late.

"Our hands were active," Brooks said after the Wizards forced 15 of Brooklyn's 22 turnovers after halftime. "Our feet were moving. We created a lot of deflections and steals and got out into transition. The game turned because we started defending and we were hitting shots off our defense."

"We were just more physical," Wall said. "They would just run their offense (in the first half), easy flow and nobody was putting pressure on the ball."

Washington scored the first 13 points of the second half as the Nets did not score on their first eight possessions. The Wizards took an 83-81 lead into the fourth and then withstood seven deadlocks before Wall and Beal made plays on both ends.

"We want to be a two-way team. It's definitely a good 12 minutes, probably one our best 12 minutes of the year," Brooks said. "But we can't play 12 minutes of solid defensive basketball. It comes down to being solid throughout the game."

The Nets held a 106-104 lead on a put-back by Trevor Booker with 3:45 remaining. Beal then put the Wizards ahead for good with a 3-pointer 18 seconds later and after a steal, Wall coasted in for a running dunk with 3:09 left.

The plays kept coming for the Wizards as a 3-pointer by Wall and a layup by Marcin Gortat made it 114-107 with 1:54 remaining. Those plays did not quite seal it as the Nets twice cut the deficit to three but after Kilpatrick's layup it 116-113 with 39.5 seconds left, Beal intercepted Booker's pass near the three-point line and Wall iced at the line with 5.5 seconds remaining.

The events of the third eventually led to Brooklyn's third straight loss since last Tuesday's double-overtime win against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Nets have dropped 10 of their last 11 games since Nov. 12 and were outscored by double digits in the third for the 10th time.

"We were expecting them to pick up their energy, their physicality," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. "They got into us and that was the story of the game."

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 25 points and Kilpatrick added 21 as the Nets shot 5 of 18 and committed 10 turnovers in third.

"Their aggressiveness just got to us a little and we just started playing a different game," Lopez said.

NOTES: Houston matched the four-year, $37 million offer sheet the Nets made to restricted free agent F Donatas Motiejunas. In July, the Nets had offer sheets matched by Miami and Portland to Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe. "It's obviously disappointing when you miss out on another chance to acquire another asset," Brooklyn GM Sean Marks said. "But at the same time, it shows us that we're going down the right path that he was matched." ... Washington C Ian Mahinmi (sore right knee) was inactive for the fourth straight game. Mahinmi played 14 minutes in his season debut Nov. 26 against San Antonio after injuring his left knee during the preseason. Manhimi continued his recovery by running from one end of the court and working on post-up plays during pregame. ... Brooklyn G Caris LeVert was active for the first time after a lengthy rehab following a left injury sustained last February when he was at Michigan. LeVert, who has limited practice time, did not get into the game.