Wizards blow 20-point lead despite dominant game from big 3

The Washington Wizards have returned to their old habits of losing games that they should have won. In the first half, the Wizards opened up a 20-point lead and held it consistently throughout the entire first half.

The third quarter changed everything as Anfernee Simons and the rest of the Portland Trailblazers catch fire and score over 70 points in the second half. Even with a solid third quarter and a subpar fourth quarter but still not bad, the Wizards just could not keep up.

A surprising outing from Trendon Watford was the final nail in the coffin for the Wizards as they fall 124-116 at home to the Trailblazers.

The most painful aspect of this loss was the dominant game from the Wizards big three, where they combined for 78 points, 22 rebounds, and 11 assists. They even combined for 52.9% from the field and only one missed free throw of the 18 attempts between the trio.

Kristaps Porzingis had 32 points to pair with Bradley Beal’s 34 while Kyle Kuzma was just shy of a 12-point triple double as he pulled in 11 rebounds and dished out six assists. They were definitely not the reason for the loss.

The shortcomings for the Wizards once again lay with the supporting cast as Deni “Turbo” Avdija returns to earth as he dropped two points, four rebounds, and two assists while shooting oh-for-eight from the field.

The encouraging aspect of the game was the fact that the Trailblazers respected Avdija enough to gameplan for him and collapse the defense on him every time he touched the paint. This is something that teams rarely did before. The next step for him is reading the defense as it collapses so he can find shooters in the corner and on the wing.

While that’s not enough to really feel great about the loss, especially after blowing a huge lead, there is something to appreciate.

Going forward, the Washington Wizards are going to need to be more attentive to passing the ball and can’t keep forcing bad shots. Maybe this loss will keep them accountable, and they can play better going forward.