Washington Wizards: Wizards Lose Golden Opportunity, Blow Another Late Lead
The Washington Wizards blew a golden opportunity last night to pick up a huge road victory against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
The Washington Wizards blew a golden opportunity last night to pick up a huge road victory against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. The Wizards, who were led by Otto Porter (29 points) and his seven made three pointers, led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before losing late. 120-117.
Most of the national attention will focus on the scuffle moments before halftime involving Bradley Beal and Draymond Green. Beal appeared to strike Green in the face before the two locked up chest to chest, and eventually tumbled to the floor underneath the Warriors’ basket. Both were promptly ejected. The matter will surely be reviewed by the league office on Saturday. Suspensions should be rendered before the Wizards conclude their west coast trip on Sunday in Sacramento.
However, for the Wizards this game had an all too familiar feel to it. Washington built another big lead only to blow it in the final moments. It’s a pattern. The same thing happened to an inferior opponent on Wednesday against the Lakers. The Wizards had a 10 point lead midway through the fourth quarter. They didn’t execute down the stretch and allowed the Lakers to force overtime and eventually lose.
On Monday to start their trip, the Wizards narrowly escaped the Denver Nuggets after almost blowing another fourth quarter lead; same for the Pistons at home, where they led by as much as 15 in the fourth. And if we go back further, the Wizards would have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, had they closed out either Game 1 or Game 2 in Boston. In both those games, the Wizards sprinted out to leads only to blow them late.
The Wizards can’t close. It’s as simple as that. They spent the off-season lamenting the fact that they needed to be better late in order to reach that next step. Through five games this season they appear to be the same old Wizards. Having learned nothing from their playoff failure last spring.
Last night’s failure to seal the deal took away from what was another solid performance from Porter. He is what the conversation should have been about. Or Kelly Oubre who had 19 points and 8 rebounds and looked unafraid.
Instead they are afterthoughts. The Wizards raced out to their big lead in part to the hot shooting of both, who were a combined 11-15 from beyond the arc. Both were aggressive when the opportunities presented themselves. However, later in the game, the offense bogged down. Without his running mate John Wall was forced to orchestrate the offense as the only true playmaker on the floor.
One watching knew the shorthanded Wizards were going to have to fend off the onslaught by the Warriors. They’re too talented not to make a run. And there is no shame in losing to the best team in the league on their home floor. But with a chance to get the sour taste of the Lakers loss out, the Wizards failed to capitalize on another opportunity. Until they start closing out games, it will be fair to be skeptical of the Wizards, despite how much they tell everyone that this year is different.