Wizards 116
Thunder 98
January 6, 2019 | Chesapeake Energy Arena | Oklahoma City, OK
The Washington Wizards had never won in Oklahoma City entering Sunday night’s game against the Thunder. They were 0-9 since the team moved there in 2008, but somehow, someway, the undermanned road team was able to get the job done to earn their fifth win away from Capital One Arena. In the midst of a brutal stretch of games, this is where Washington may start making tough decisions of where the team is headed the rest of the season with the trade deadline a month away. For now, they can enjoy one of their best wins of the season.
All about rebounding
The Wizards are a perfect 10-0 this season when they win the rebounding battle, they are a mere 6-24 (.250) when they do not win the battle on the boards. Without a guy like Dwight Howard to grab double-digit rebounds every game, Washington has tried to rely on team rebounding, which has not worked out too often this season. Ian Mahinmi led the way with 10 rebounds in 25 minutes as he was asked to battle with Steven Adams who was dominating Thomas Bryant early on with 10 points in the first quarter. Sam Dekker also brought the energy with eight boards off the bench in just 16 minutes of play. Bryant and Trevor Ariza chipped in with seven each, while Jeff Green and Otto Porter had six rebounds. Such evenly distributed rebounding is the only way the Wizards are going to have a chance most nights, but it has not been consistent enough to net results.
Impressive bench production
Early in the game, Washington was down 11-4 and then 18-7 before the second unit provided some positive reinforcements to turn an 11-point deficit into an 11-point lead three minutes into the second quarter. The starters then squandered that by allowing OKC to go on an 8-0 run to start the second half, but towards the end of the fourth quarter, they built their lead back up to 14 with help from the bench. From there, things were mostly out of reach for the home team. Otto Porter led the way with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting including an impressive 4-of-6 from beyond the arc after missing all five of his deep balls on Friday. Mahinmi had nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, Chasson Randle had seven points, and Sam Dekker chipped in with six points. Porter, Mahinmi, Randle, and Dekker were a combined +93. Randle’s +30 in just 18 minutes is exceptional and will earn him a guaranteed contract on Monday when his non-guaranteed becomes final for the rest of the year.
Withstanding Westbrook
Yes, the former MVP did have yet another triple-double with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists, but Washington did a decent job of limiting Westbrook. The stat line is nice, but the 22 points came on an inefficient 9-of-23 shooting from the field and Westbrook also went 2-of-6 from the free throw line. Washington also forced him into eight turnovers. Credit the likes of Tomas Satoransky, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, and Otto Porter along with the rest of the team for containing one of the fastest and strongest point guards in the NBA.
Next Game: Washington will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday for the start of a home-and-home back-to-back with the 76ers.
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