The Washington Wizards are still without a win after a 120-113 loss to the Orlando Magic on consecutive days.
With Russell Westbrook resting, Raul Neto – who ended the game with 22 points, four rebounds and five assists – the best of his career – was included in the starting lineup. The Wizards started off strong when rookie Deni Avdija (nine points, nine rebounds) hit a three and found Thomas Bryant (16 points, seven rebounds and five assists) with a brilliant pass. With the Wizards at 16–4, Magic coach Steve Clifford took a break.
With the first touch of the ball, Troy Brown, who had 12 points from the bench, dropped three in a row. Despite all the momentum that the Wizards were building, Orlando Terrence Ross, who, along with Markelle Fultz, led the team with 26 points, started from where he left off last night with five quick points. A circus shot by Robin Lopez, along with an Ish Smith pull-up jumper, saw Washington finish the first quarter with 35-29.
While three-point shooter Dāvis Bertāns hit a three at the start of the second, his bad shot continued – the “Latvian Laser” was an insufficient 1-4 beyond the arc. Two turns courtesy of Jerome Robinson allowed Orlando to take the lead. With the Wizards playing clumsy basketball throughout the second half, Bradley Beal did everything he could to keep his team in the game, including giving Evan Fournier a run everywhere. Beal, who finished with the game’s best score and the 29-point team, also had five rebounds and seven assists and was the main reason Washington lost by just two points at halftime.
The Wizards opened the second half at a breakneck pace, with Neto demonstrating why Scott Brooks should look at him more often than this incipient season. Neto found Avdija and Beal on different occasions with silky passes, hit a three and stole the ball from a play on the field and drove to the edge for an easy two. With the Wizards in good shape – the team led 90-77 with 2:17 remaining on the game clock – Beal left the court.
For the remainder of the quarter, the Wizards prevented Orlando from scoring; the team not only withstood the storm without Beal on the ground, but also maintained a potent Magic attack at zero points.
A sloppy start to the fourth period foreshadowed the incredibly horrendous loss the team would endure. An eight-point run from Magic to start the fourth forced Brooks to call time out and evaporate any momentum for the home team. Beal, Bryant and Neto did what they could, but defending Swiss cheese and missing kicks cost the Wizards their precious – if misleading – advantage of 17 points.
The Wizards will now go on to a series of two games against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday and Thursday this week.