Recap: Wizards win 101-99 vs. Thunder

Wizards escapes OKC with a close win and now move on to Dallas tomorrow night

The Washington Wizards won 101-99 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

Washington got off to another slow start in this one, being down by as many as 10 points in the first half. After going down 37-47, Coach Unseld calls a timeout that seemed to spark a run for the Wizards. From there, the Wizards went on a timely 19-7 run to close the half, putting the Wizards up by 2 at half time. It seemed clear, the emphasis became more on attacking the basket more and stop settling for jumpers and that got their offense going a little bit.

In the 2nd half the offense looked a little more smoother, but they never got to a good enough rhythm to put the Thunder out of the game. The Wizards held a 10 point lead momentarily during the 3rd quarter but the Thunder continued to chip away.

This game was decided down the stretch where the struggling Bradley Beal was able to put together six points in the closing minutes, but the game-winning basket came courtesy of Kyle Kuzma’s put back shot with 36.6 seconds left to put the team up 101-97. That would be all they needed as the Wizards snap their two-game losing streak, winning 101-99, after a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander miss on a last second heave. The team did not look great, but they did enough to squeak out a win tonight.

Wizards move to 12-7 on the season and will go to Dallas for a showdown tomorrow night in the Lone Star State.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was on fire

KCP found his rhythm early on going to the basket and scoring off the dribble, but as the game went on he also found the rhythm behind the arc hitting some big 3-point shots. KCP finished with 20 points, including 4 for 7 from behind the arc.

Gafford’s Block Party

Daniel Gafford’s presence at the rim was felt tonight with a career-high 8 blocks. He did a good job sticking with driving wing players and contesting shots (without fouling) at the rim. He played an important role in the Wizards climbing back in this game at the end of the 1st half.