The Washington Wizards scored a signature win over the Charlotte Hornets Thursday in a 123-114 contest that had Capital One Arena rocking with several highlight plays.
In the battle between two East bottom dwellers, the Wizards got the exact kind of performances they needed from key players to pick up a W. There was a lot to love about the victory, from a Wiz fan’s perspective.
The game stayed close throughout the first three quarters, with neither team having a lead of more than seven points. With Charlotte building some momentum late in the third, Corey Kispert went on a personal 8-0 run to end the quarter and give Washington an 87-86 lead heading into the fourth.
The Wiz extended the run by scoring the first seven points of the fourth to take a 94-86 lead. Then it was Jordan Poole’s turn to sprinkle in a couple of threes. After the Hornets battled back to cut the deficit 95-94, Poole splashed in back-to-back triples.
Then it was Alex Sarr (!!) who grabbed the three-point baton. Sarr hit two huge shots from deep, including the dagger to close out the game.
Sarr had one of the best games of his career in Thursday’s win. He finished with 19 points on 6/13 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. He also hit 3/6 from distance, which makes him 8/18 (44.4%) from three over his last four games.
Sarr also became just the third Wizard to hit those numbers, joining a couple of guys named John Wall and Gilbert Arenas.
The Frenchman also had this emphatic jam below, one of several huge stuffs from the Wizards this evening. Safe to say it was a fun night.
It was Bilal Coulibaly, however, who had the highlight of the game with this majestic alley-oop flush during crunch time.
Coulibaly also did an excellent job on LaMelo Ball. The Hornets star finished with 34 points but needed 32 shots to get there. Ball also shot a ghastly 3/18 from three-point range, mostly with Bilal as his primary defender.
Coulibaly tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Poole and Malcolm Brogdon combined for 50 points to carry Washington offensively. Bub Carrington struggled offensively with just two points but did tally nine rebounds and four assists.
The Wizards will need to pull off a huge upset to start their second winning streak of the season. On Saturday, Washington goes on the road to take on the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks, fresh off their NBA Cup victory.
