Having been trampled by Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat, the Washington Wizards now will turn their attention to another high-scoring offensive force, Paolo Banchero, when they visit the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.
The game pairs an Orlando team that’s used five straight wins to move into fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings against a Washington club that’s dropped nine in a row to remain in contention for the worst record in the league.
The Wizards added to their misery Tuesday night when they earned national headlines for allowing Adebayo to record the second-most points ever in an NBA game. Washington sent the Miami big man to the free throw line 43 times en route to watching him score 83 points in the 150-29 home win by the Heat.
An overabundance of fouls often has been a problem with the Wizards this season. They rank third in the NBA in foul shots allowed, giving up an average of 26.9 per game, narrowly trailing the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz.
But for one night anyway, Wizards coach Brian Keefe didn’t think his team’s defense necessarily deserved the preponderance of whistles.
“There’s a lot of fouls called — 16 free throws (for Adebayo) in the fourth quarter,” he noted at his postgame press conference. “We tried to take the ball out of his hands. He got some free throws 40 feet from the rim. I can’t explain some of those calls.”
The Wizards gave Trae Young the night off in Miami after his return from a lengthy absence with 19- and 18-minute stints in losses to Utah and New Orleans, respectively. His first two games for Washington resulted in a total of 29 points and 14 assists in those 37 minutes.
Young had not played since Dec. 27 due to knee and quad injuries. He is expected to play against the Magic.
This won’t be the first time the Magic have seen Young the season. Playing then for the Atlanta Hawks, the four-time All-Star had 25 points in a 111-107 win at Orlando in October.
The Magic have won two of three games against the Wizards this season. The clubs met March 3 in Orlando, with the Magic using 32 free throw points in 37 attempts as the foundation for a 126-109 win.
Banchero had 37 points in the win. It was his first of two 30-point games this month. He scored 33 points on Sunday in a 130-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Desmond Bane has shared in the offensive highlights during Orlando’s winning streak, topping 25 points three times, including a game-high 35 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 128-122 win on Wednesday night.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said his team had a secret weapon Wednesday night — the Kia Center home crowd.
“There’s going to be different ways to win games and we keep finding those ways,” Mosley told the media postgame. “Games are going to look different. But it’s taking it one game at a time.
“The goal (Wednesday) was take care of this game, take care of home. Our fans were absolutely fantastic. It’s people on their feet, cheering with the defense, getting our guys going. The energy of this building is just incredible. That’s a big piece of what this game means to us.”
