Hornets 122
Wizards 105
February 23, 2018 | Capital One Arena | Washington, D.C.
Fresh off of one of their best wins of the season in Cleveland, the Washington Wizards looked to exact some revenge on the Charlotte Hornets on the second leg of a back-to-back. They failed miserably in that task as the road team essentially outplayed Washington in every facet of the game. For the third time this season, the Wizards were embarrassed by the lottery bound Hornets and suffered yet another loss to a sub-.500 team.
“We just didn’t have any energy, no focus, no fightback, no nothing,” Bradley Beal said. “So, they just flat out whopped us.”
(Photo: Ned Dishman via Getty Images)
Slow Start Dooms Washington
Last time the Wizards played the Hornets, they allowed 77 first half points, which was not much worse than the 36 points they gave up on Friday night. Eight minutes into the game, Washington was already down 26-15. The Wizards dug themselves too big of a hole as they trailed the entire second quarter by double-digits and never got closer than six the rest of the game.
Charlotte Capitalized on Turnovers
That the Wizards committed 14 turnovers did not necessarily cost them the game, but that the Hornets were able to cash those miscues into 28 points was what did Washington in. Charlotte had nine more field goal attempts than the home team and were able to score 12 points on the fast break. After only having four turnovers in the first half against Cleveland, the Wizards committed that many in the first nine minutes of the game leading to 10 points for the road team that resulted in the slow start.
“In the first half we had 10 turnovers and gave them 23 points off of those turnovers,” Scott Brooks said. “We did a much better job in the second half but we were a little careless for whatever reason. We just did not have that edge that we have had for the last couple of weeks.”
Bradley Beal Does His Part
The Wizards shooting guard continues to look every bit of an All-Star as he leads his team, while John Wall remains sidelined following knee surgery. In 40 minutes, Beal scored 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Beal added six rebounds, six assists, and two steals, but also committed four of the team’s 14 turnovers. As is usually the case for Washington, they got enough offense to win the game.
Poor Three-Point Defense
Coming into Friday, the Wizards were the second best three-point shooting defense in the NBA by holding their opponents to just 33.9 percent from beyond the arc. Not only did Charlotte shoot 43.6 percent from beyond the arc, but the 14th best three-point shooting team made 17 from beyond the arc, seven more than their usual per game average. Frank Kaminsky knocked down six, Kemba Walker had five despite starting 0-of-5 from the field, and Marvin Williams had four from deep. Either it was not part of the game plan or Washington was not aggressive enough in defending the arc, but it certainly put Charlotte at an advantage.
“They were just running their stuff hard,” Beal said about the Hornets’ three-point shooting. “They were cutting hard, they were penetrating with aggression. Making us collapse. We didn’t have a second effort that we usually have and even if we did, they did a terrific job of moving the ball. We got to give them credit, but that’s a testament to us not being locked in and not doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Ref Show Was Hard to Watch
The game only took 2 hours and 9 minutes, but it could have easily been under two hours were it not from whistle after whistle. In a game with 39 foul calls, including 17 in the second quarter, there was little flow to the game for Washington. For the second straight game, the Wizards had a three-pointer taken away because the other team committed a foul that was ruled to occur before the basket after review, which eliminated the potential four-point play. Beal in particular was incredibly frustrated by the officiating as he picked up a technical at the end of the first half and later told Hoop District that “it was bad.”
Next Game: The Wizards will look to rebound against the 76ers on Sunday night.