Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
No one said that this season for the Wizards was going to be anything but a challenge, but there have been quite a few games early on that the 4th quarter has been the downfall of entire game… it was no different tonight against Dallas.
Washington had a huge advantage with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson out of the line-up tonight, but it was a the most unlikely bench player, Naji Marshall, who dropped 30 points and 8 rebounds giving the Mavs their first victory in four games and again dropping the Wizards to another 4th quarter collapse.
The Wizards had a large enough lead of 8 points with 11:06 remaining in the game, but that was before they would score just 4 points in the next 5 minutes and eventually watched Dallas regain the lead, 96-94, on a Brandon Williams jumper with 6:40 remaining in the game.
Washington had one more shot to keep this game on their side, but they would go another 2 minutes without scoring before Alex Sarr hit a tip shot with 2:16 remaining keeping it close at 106-103. P. J Washington Jr. added the final 2 of his 14 points with 11.2 seconds remaining, which, also included eight in the final five minutes to seal the win.
Cam Whitmore scored 19 points for Washington, while CJ McCollum led the team with 25, though he managed only two points after halftime. Washington has now lost eight straight and remains winless at home (0–5).
Some NBA fans have been questioning the early performances by Cooper Flagg, who finished with 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals, shooting 40 percent from the field, but it’s their early record that perhaps is making people a bit questionable about how the #1 pick fits into the mix with this line-up in Dallas.
The Mavericks are only scoring 97.8 points per 100 possessions when Cooper Flagg is on the court. When Flagg is off the court, Dallas’ offensive rating shoots up to 109.4.
Tonight, we saw two teams going in supposedly different directions, yet the Wizards defeated the Mavs on their home court and came very close doing the same again tonight in D.C. So, what is the fix for the Wizards to make it out of November by winning a couple of these close games and prove they have something that is actually building for the future?
