Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
There have been so many amazing efforts by players on this Wizards team over the years. Numerous career nights by Beal and company, but often times those 40 plus point efforts land the Wizards on the opposite side of what they would want a W.
Tonight, was no different for Kristaps Porzingis, who had one of his best games in a Wizards uniform finishing with 43 points, but yet another wasted effort as the Wizards let the Hawks creep back in the fourth quarter and emerge with a 122-120 victory.
Porzingis made all five of his shot attempts in the fourth, including four 3-pointers but his last-second 3 only cut the final deficit to two. He finished 17 of 22 from the field, 7 of 10 beyond the arc.
After the Hawks grabbed the lead at 117-114, Bradley Beal made just one of two free throws with 52.7 seconds left for Washington which was a deciding factor in the outcome.
Beal gave the Wizards one more chance when stole the ball from Trae Young but couldn’t convert on the break, and Hunter’s two free throws pushed the lead to four.
Beal finished with 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting, but the big difference in the final tonight was that he was 1 of 6 in the final quarter.
Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards. Kuzma also appeared to play with a limp for the final two minutes after going down hard on his already injured leg just couple of plays before the Wizards let the Hawks push the lead to 4 points.
The Wizards will face the Hawks again on Friday night for the final of the 2-game home set. Kuzma will be re-evaluated tomorrow and more than likely be a game time decision for Friday.
