Undermanned Washington Wizards take on Atlanta Hawks following historic loss
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Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington is fouled while driving to the basket by Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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WASHINGTON – After flashing a few encouraging signs, the Washington Wizards’ rebuilding efforts seem to be at a standstill as they seek to get out of bottom spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
They will look to regroup following a historic loss when they face the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Dec 6 (Dec 7 morning, Singapore time). The Hawks are not doing too well themselves, dropping their third straight game on Dec 5, falling 134-133 against the visiting Denver Nuggets.
The Wizards, meanwhile, dropped to 3-18 with a 146-101 loss to the visiting Boston Celtics on Dec 4. The 45-point loss was Washington’s worst of the season and matched the fifth-worst defeat in franchise history.
“I didn’t see our identity of how we play basketball, and that’s not acceptable,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “These (losses), you should be upset with. We should all be upset, so you use this as fuel.”
The Wizards will be short-handed again when they face the Hawks, making their task even harder.
Tre Johnson (strained left hip flexor), Corey Kispert (fractured right thumb), Alex Sarr (right adductor strain) and Bilal Coulibaly (right oblique strain) have all been ruled out for the contest. Khris Middleton (sore right knee), Tristan Vukcevic (bruised right knee) and Cam Whitmore (illness) are all questionable.
Keefe can only hope for a better result after Washington were outscored by the Celtics 80-42 in the second half – a glaring weakness of his team.
“It’s painfully obvious we didn’t meet the standard that we want to play at, our competitive juice,” he said.
“I think we made a little bit of a run there at the end of the second quarter, but the second half was not representative of what we want to be like and who we have been lately.”
On a positive note, Washington beat Atlanta 132-113 on Nov 25 for one of their few wins this season.
While the two teams struggle, it is a different story at the top end of the league on Dec 5.
Champions Oklahoma City Thunder powered to their 14th straight victory by beating the Dallas Mavericks 132-111 to push their record to an impressive 22-1.
NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren added 15 apiece for Oklahoma City, who are off to the best start to a season since the Golden State Warriors opened the 2015-16 campaign 24-0.
The Celtics, led by 30 points from Jaylen Brown, cruised past the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 126-105. The marquee clash lost much of its lustre with Lakers superstar LeBron James sidelined by the sciatica that caused him to miss the first 14 games of his 23rd season and by foot joint arthritis.
It was a milestone night for Houston star Kevin Durant, who became the eighth player in NBA history to score 31,000 career points in the Rockets’ 117-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
He finished with 28 points and teammate Amen Thompson scored his season-high of 31 as the Rockets claimed a fifth victory in six games.
“I’m just grateful to be in this position to live out my dreams every single day,” Durant, a former NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time champion, said of his latest milestone. “So many people have invested in my life. I’m just grateful for them and I want to keep it going.” REUTERS, AFP
