Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
With just a few games remaining in the season, the Wizards have certainly found a way to make games interesting. Tonight, was no different was the Blazers controlled the lead for most of the game, but in the final minutes, the Wizards kept it close, but a few errant mistakes cost the Wizards a chance to escape possibly setting the franchise record for most losses in a season.
Portland was led by solid performances from Deandre Ayton (34 points, 13 rebounds) and Dalano Bantom (21 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) while Scoot Henderson added 19 points and 7 assists.
Deni Avdiji led the way for the Wizards (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Jordan Poole (20 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds)
“Look, we’re all competitors here, everybody wants to win,” said interim coach Brian Keefe, whose rebuilding team is 8-26 since he took over for Wes Unseld Jr. in late January. “But we’re so focused on the process to get to winning. Those things you don’t want to hear? Sure, we’ve all got stuff inside of us that want to compete and win games. But we’re in the process of improving.”
Washington shot a season-worst 15.2% (5 of 33) from 3-point range. Poole hit three of those 3s but missed three in a row late, while his teammates combined to make 2 of 23 attempts.
The game was a one possession game for the Wizards until Poole’s consecutive misses allowed Henderson to convert a three-point play on a leaner in traffic that finally pushed Portland back to a 108-102 lead with 15.7 seconds left.
