The NBA featured its top teams with a five-game Christmas schedule on Wednesday.
The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets were not part of those games, as they have only 11 wins combined. Instead, these two teams at the bottom of the Southeast Division will meet on Thursday night in Washington.
Charlotte has lost five games in a row and 13 of their last 14, including a 114-101 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday. Washington has lost five out of their last six games, with their latest loss being a 123-105 defeat at Oklahoma City.
The Wizards, who have only four wins, have actually won two of their last four home games, while Charlotte has struggled on the road with a 2-11 record this season.
In the game against Houston, Charlotte struggled with their shooting, hitting only 1 of 11 from three-point range. They scored just 15 points in the first quarter and trailed 62-31 at halftime, which led to boos from their home crowd. The Hornets were down by as much as 34 points early in the third quarter before Houston slowed down.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 24 points and eight rebounds, while LaMelo Ball added 23 points and eight assists. Mark Williams had 12 points and nine rebounds.
“We didn’t do anything. We didn’t communicate, we weren’t physical,” Bridges said. “That’s not Hornets basketball. It starts with the physicality, communication. … We’ve just got to be better defensively.”
Charlotte started the season 4-5 but has only won three games since then. Their most recent loss led to a players-only meeting.
“I think them (forwards Bridges and Taj Gibson) talking to us, I think they both said what everybody is thinking,” said Williams. “I think it just starts with us. We’ve got to be tougher, got to play harder. Just do all the things it takes to win. Just got to have some pride out there. I think we just lacked that tonight.”
The Wizards, playing with fewer key players, kept the game close in Oklahoma City before the Thunder pulled away in the end. Washington was missing some important players, including Bilal Coulibaly (groin), Alex Sarr (back), and Kyle Kuzma (ribs), and Marvin Bagley III also got injured during the game.
Washington made 16 of their first 32 three-pointers, but then missed their last 11, allowing Oklahoma City, a 20-point favorite, to outscore them 32-18 in the final quarter.
“They just made that little run. … I thought we ran out of a little gas during that stretch,” said Wizards coach Brian Keefe. “But our guys battled. Our guys played a terrific game.”
Jordan Poole scored 31 points, including 5-of-12 from three-point range, marking his fourth game this season with over 30 points.
“That’s what Jordan does,” Keefe said. “He’s our primary scorer. He draws so much attention. It wasn’t just his scoring. It was his drawing — they had to put two (defenders) on him. That allowed us to get open threes for other guys. I thought he played a terrific game tonight. Not just for himself, he got other guys going.”
Carlton Carrington added 14 points, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 16 rebounds, the most in the game. This was his eighth double-double of the season.
However, the Wizards had 19 turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Thunder.
