A pair of downtrodden teams look to halt their respective losing streaks at the other’s expense Sunday when the Washington Wizards host the Brooklyn Nets.
The Wizards and Nets are saddled with identical 1-11 records. The former saw its losing skid extend to 10 games after dropping a 135-112 setback to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, while the Nets squandered an early 16-point lead Friday to lose its fourth in a row since earning its lone win of the season on Nov. 5.
Credit Washington head coach Brian Keefe, however, for putting a positive spin on the heels of his team falling to the Detroit Pistons in overtime Monday and registering a strong second half versus the Rockets.
“We’ve played some really good teams lately,” Keefe said. “(Houston) is one of the best teams in the West, we know that. Detroit is one of the best teams in the East, big, physical teams. When we’re bringing that level of intensity and focus at the start of games, and we’re really moving the ball, we can play with these top teams. I think that’s something we can take away.”
Alex Sarr made 10 of 15 shots as part of his 25-point, 11-rebound performance against Houston.
Sarr, the second overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, has scored at least 15 points in six straight contests and posted double-figure totals in all 12 games this season.
Kyshawn George had a career-high nine assists to go along with 16 points and seven rebounds versus the Rockets. He has scored at least 10 points in nine of 11 games this season.
Brooklyn’s Michael Porter Jr. recorded 24 points, 11 rebounds, a career-high seven assists without committing a turnover in a 105-98 setback to the Orlando Magic on Friday.
Porter, however, was left to lament a 1-for-6 shooting performance in the fourth quarter for the Nets, who led 98-94 before seeing the Magic roll off the final 11 points of the game.
“I thought my teammates played great. I told them, this one’s on me. I feel like I didn’t make plays down the stretch,” Porter said, per the New York Post. “This one’s on me. I got to play better, make plays on a stretch to help us. Obviously, we win as a team, lose as the team. But yeah, I feel like this one was on me being up four with like 1:30, two minutes left, I gotta try to be better. So I just told everybody my fault.”
Porter wasn’t the lone Net offering apologies after the game.
Nic Claxton failed to secure a rebound following the second consecutive missed free throw by Franz Wagner later in the fourth quarter. Wagner promptly drained the first of his two 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to effectively seal the win.
“Yeah, that was on me,” Claxton said, per the New York Post. “(Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr.) got around me on the box out. So, I got to be better with that. Just got to be better on defensive rebounding, for sure. We’ve been struggling. I’ve been struggling. It’s definitely a point of emphasis. And that possession really hurt us.”
