Wizards blow out Kings to end road trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Wizards beat the Sacramento Kings 125-111 on Friday night. Here are five takeaways from what went down…
Positive momentum
The timing and nature of some wins can make them feel much better than others. The Wizards’ victory over the Kings on Friday night was that type of win. They blew Sacramento out, did it to end a grueling west coast road trip and it happened right in the middle of the holidays.
Now, the Wizards can return home and kick their feet up with three days off before their next game. While they still have plenty of work to do, now 13-21 on the season, they have two wins in three games to build off of.
That represents a glimmer of hope after about a month of despair. It follows a stretch in which they lost 10 straight games and 13 of 14.
Kyle Kuzma (32 points, 9 rebounds) and Bradley Beal (24 points, 4 assists) led the way for the Wizards in this one. Washington outscored the Kings 40-23 in the second quarter and led by as many as 30 points.
The Wizards play next on Tuesday at home against the Sixers, then again the following night against the Suns in a back-to-back.
Hachimura showed out
Rui Hachimura had a solid, but relatively quiet first game back in the Wizards’ loss to the Jazz on Thursday. He was much better one night later, as he came out molten hot against the Kings, hitting his first six shots from the field. Hachimura had 14 points by halftime and finished the game with 21 along with five rebounds and four assists.
Hachimura shot 9-for-15 overall and 3-for-7 from three. He had absolute confidence letting shots fly from long range, highlighted by one in the first half where he stepped into a three from the wing and drained it right in a defender’s face. Hachimura also had one of the more creative passes of his career, a hook shot-type heave over two defenders to Taj Gibson for an easy two.
The Wizards were 9-7 when Hachimura injured his right ankle and went 3-13 while he was gone. Though it’s not like his absence was the sole reason for the discrepancy, this game was a reminder of how valuable his scoring off the bench can be.
Wright returned
It seems like every game these days the Wizards were welcoming a player back from injury and in this one, they returned a guy who has been out for quite a while. For the first time since Oct. 25, 29 games ago, Delon Wright was available off their bench. Wright checked in with 3:22 left in the first quarter and played 15 minutes, as he was on a pitch count coming off a fairly serious hamstring injury.
Wright had two points, eight assists and a steal for the night. All in all, it was an excellent start and one that showed what the Wizards have been missing with him out of the mix. His height, length and timing make a noticeable difference on the defensive end, as he made Kings players uncomfortable when he was in their presence. And offensively, he did a nice job getting downhill and finding others with quick, accurate passes. The game flows well with him on the floor and the Wizards can hope he will be here to stay.
Porzingis was back
The Wizards also saw Kristaps Porzingis (7 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) return to the floor, though from a much shorter absence than Wright. Porzingis had missed the last two games with a non-COVID illness. His return plus Wright’s gave the Wizards one of their healthiest rosters of the season, though Deni Avdija and Will Barton both sat due to lower back soreness.
With Porzingis and Wright back, we saw a few interesting changes to the Wizards’ rotation. Porzingis was in a starting lineup that included Monte Morris, Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford with Porzingis playing as the four. It was the first time they have started together this season. As NBC Sports Washington’s Mike DePrisco noted, the Wizards were +42.7 with Gafford and Porzingis lineups before this game.
Also, with Wright back head coach Wes Unseld Jr. went away from Jordan Goodwin entirely. One has to wonder how long that will stick, given Goodwin was very impressive while Wright was out.
Playing fast
This game was a clash of styles in the sense that the Kings are third in the NBA in pace and the Wizards are 20th. Sacramento is also fifth in fastbreak points and No. 1 in fastbreak defense. The Wizards, though, beat the Kings at their own game, outscoring them in fastbreak points 24-to-18.
Washington did that not only by executing well in transition, but also by limiting fastbreak opportunities for the Kings. They only had 10 turnovers, including just one in the first half. Transition points were also partly why the Wizards dominated the paint points battle 70-to-50. The Kings give up the fourth-most points in the paint, so that was less surprising.
