The last two weeks have been good to the Wizards. They are 8-3 since John Wall returned from healing his achy left knee. They have won four out of five since a stinkbomb in Brooklyn — though the one loss was a similarly odorous event in Atlanta — and have moved into fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Three points following a 121-103 win against the New York Knicks on Wednesday:
Unicorn wrangling. Washington’s first-half defense was predicated on stopping Kristaps Porzingis, the stunningly long Latvian who was booed on draft night in 2015. The Wizards were so focused on Porzingis, that other holes were created throughout the floor. They allowed 63 first-half points. In the second half, they played more basic and one-on-one defense. That tremendously slowed the Knicks, one of the league’s least-efficient offensive teams. New York is 20th in offensive rating since it primarily shoots two-pointers and runs things through Porzingis and a myriad of post-ups. “I felt like they were all focused on what I was doing,” Porzingis said. “Wherever I was, there was contact there. Bump, bump, bumping me there. That was, obviously, having a team like that doesn’t make stuff easier.” He finished the night 5-for-13, scoring 16 points. His impact was limited.
Offensive efficiency. Washington’s starters devastated their New York counterparts. The lowest plus-minus among the group was Otto Porter’s plus-20. Bradley Beal scored 27 points on 14 shots, one time shaking down Porzingis before hitting a step-back jumper. Marcin Gortat scored 21 points, his most since Feb. 2, 2017. He needed just 10 shots to get there. Combined, the Wizards starters shot 61.7 percent. “I’m happy we won the game, that’s the most important thing,” Gortat said. “It’s just one game in the season where I’m going to score like that. Let’s talk after 10, 20 more games. We’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Moving in the right direction. Detroit’s loss Wednesday night vaulted the Wizards into fourth in the Eastern Conference. They lead the extremely tight pack of second-tier teams in the conference. Boston, Toronto and Cleveland remain grouped together in front of everyone else. The Celtics handled the Cavaliers on Wednesday night in Boston, putting the Wizards three games back of Cleveland. The midpoint of the season is approaching. Washington appears to be coming together after early injuries and head-scratching play. The question is if the half-a-dozen giveaways in the first three months of the season will compromise their seed at the end. But, for now, they are a season-high six games over .500 with five of the next six at home.
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