The Wiz Offense Can’t Rally Around Beal and Porzingis, Falling 135-126 to the Warriors
The Wizards were in the Bay Area on the night before Valentine’s Day, but there wasn’t much love shown to the squad as they fell 135-126. The game was a messy win for the Warriors as there were 33 total turnovers through the 4 quarters played.
Both teams were dealing with injuries, the Warriors more so than the Wizards. Golden State was without Steph Curry, Andre Iguodola, and Gary Payton II. For Washington, it was just Kuzma, who is expected to play in tonight’s game against the Trail Blazers.
Despite no Chef Curry, the Warriors’ offense was still rumbling along. They had 6 players reach double figures, including Jamychal Green, who went a perfect 4-4 from deep, and Donte DiVincenzo who had 17 off the bench.
For their starters, Wiggins led the way with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. The 29-point night was his largest since his 36-point night against the Rockets back on December 3rd. And while he was the Warriors’ leading scorer, Klay Thompson was right behind him with 27 points despite a poor night from 3-point land.
Golden State’s big men, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney had nights that complimented each other well. Green dished out 6 assists, netted a quiet 4 points, and didn’t bring in a single rebound. However, that was because Looney hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds, as well as scoring 13 points.
Now, Washington’s ability to even stay in the game was on the shoulders of their stars, Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. Both surpassed 30 points and shot over 50% from the field. Beal couldn’t find a rhythm from deep, going 3-8, but the rest of the squad was solid.
No other starter for the Wizards was able to reach double-digits in any category, though Gafford did do a good job as a big man to move the ball, accumulating 5 assists.
And for the bench, Nunn was able to put together another good, but not great, night off the bench with 13 points and 6 assists. Finding consistency will be his key to success in the District.
And speaking of consistency, the guys from the nation’s capital were able to have another fantastic night shooting the ball, reaching a field goal percentage of 60% for the second night in a row. If they had limited their turnovers, they could have been walking into Portland on a 3-game win streak.
However, that did not happen and the Wiz fell to 26-30 and down to 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Tip-off for their game against the Trail Blazers tonight is scheduled for 10 pm EST. Fans back home will be hoping to be able to show some love to their team with a win on Valentine’s Day.