Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
There have been quite a few games in Wizards season that were like you couldn’t have missed the final minutes, however they usually have not been on the winning side of those minutes.. tonight was different.
Jordan Poole took matters into his own after a dunk by the Hornets Mark Williams hit an alley-oop dunk to give the Hornets a 110-109 lead. Thats when Poole took the ball up the court and launched what would be the eventual game winning three pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining in the game.
For most of the game the Wizards had all but dominated the game.. that was until the fourth quarter hit and the Hornets made a run without LaMelo Ball on the court.
Ball finished the game with 31 points, but this was the second time in the past two weeks that Ball has played the Wizards on this court with two 30 plus point efforts and still came up empty looking for a victory.
The best thing for the Wizards tonight is that that New Orleans lost, and they now possess the worst record in the NBA.
Despite a 16-game losing streak earlier this season, the Wizards (5-23) are ahead of the Pelicans (5-26), and they aren’t too far behind Toronto (7-24) and Charlotte (7-23). Since its lengthy skid, Washington has gone 3-5, including two wins over the Hornets a week apart.
“I’ve always felt like I’ve been the man for the moment, and I make big shots all the time,” said Poole, who scored 25 points. “Credit to the coaching staff for putting the ball in my hands, and shout-out to my teammates for finding me as well.”
Poole finished the game with 25 points but also had some help from the entire team tonight. He was one of 6 Wizards players to finish with double figures, followed by Bilal Coulibaly with 20 points.
Brandon Miller missed a 3 at the other end for Charlotte, and Ball’s desperate attempt at a putback was unsuccessful. Justin Champagnie made a free throw with 1.6 seconds left for the Wizards to complete the scoring.
The Hornets lost for the 14th time in 15 games.
Next up:
The Wizards host the Knicks on Saturday night.
