The Washington Wizards were unable to keep pace with the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in a 119-105 affair at Intuit Dome.
The plan to raise Khris Middleton’s trade value was in full effect to open
the contest. He started the game firing with the Wizards’ first seven points to get his team ahead 7-2 early — the only juncture Washington would hold a lead the rest of the way. The Clippers closed the quarter on a 17-7 run to take a 37-22 advantage after one.
The second quarter was not kind to the Wizards, both in terms of the scoreboard and player availability. Bilal Coulibaly did not play in the period and was later ruled out with lower back tightness. Alex Sarr was ejected from the contest after getting hit with his second technical foul.
Sarr got tossed for bouncing the ball high into the air in frustration over a foul called against him. The undermanned Wizards trailed 70-51 at the half.
The Wizards stormed all the way back in the third quarter thanks to Kyshawn George, who led the charge with 12 of his 23 points in the period. He flashed his development as an on-ball creator with a trio of midrange jumpers off the dribble and also got to the line a couple of times.
Washington got the game to within one at the 1:54 mark of the third quarter after Tristan Vukcevic hit a three-pointer to cut LA’s advantage down to 89-88. The Wizards’ comeback train ran out of steam after that, as the Clippers built their double-digit lead back up for good early in the fourth quarter.
George’s 23 points led the way for Washington in the scoring department. Middleton added 17 points, while Vukcevic and Will Riley came off the bench to add 10 and 12 points, respectively. With Sarr out for more than half the game, Marvin Bagley tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wizards next head to Sacramento on Thursday to take on the Kings.
