Wizards Lose to Thunder 121-120, Moved to 8-7 on the Season (11-16-22)

By: Darrell Owens

Headline Photo Credit: USA Today

WASHINGTON-Game 4 of the Washington Wizards (8-6) home stand would bring the Oklahoma City Thunder (6-8) into town to see if they could put a stop to Washington’s 4-game winning streak. Washington’s Kristaps Porzingis & Kyle Kuzma have held down the fort while Wizards’ superstar Bradley Beal who was out due to a non-Covid illness. Beal has not played since November 4 vs. the Nets when Brooklyn had a 42-point victory. Since that game, Washington has posted a 4-1 record, while defeating three of the Western Conference’s best teams Dallas, Utah & Memphis. Along with Porzingis & Kuzma, there have been two players that have stood out, Deni Avdija & Jordan Goodwin without them I’m not sure Washington would not be where they are now. Would the Wizards get their 5th in a row? SGA and the Thunder would have something to say about that.

Washington control this game deep into the 3rd quarter when the Thunder took their first lead since early in the 1st quarter. It would be a back-and-forth game till the very end when Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knock down the game-winning three-pointer with 01.1 left in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 42 points while dashing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds. Luguentz Dort (16 points) and Josh Giddey (11 points) chipped in for the Thunder

For the Wizards, Kristaps Porzingis scored a team-high 27 points and picked up nine rebounds. Bradley Beal scored 25 points in his return. Kyle Kuzma almost had his second career triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds & nine assists), but it wasn’t enough for the Wizards to win a fifth straight game.

Washington will take on the Miami Heat on Friday, November 18 at 7 PM from Capital One Arena.