Kuzma scores 31, Wizards snap 5-game skid with 109-102 win over Kings
WASHINGTON (AP) Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points and the Washington Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak with a 109-102 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
Kuzma, who hit 13 of 22 shots and grabbed six rebounds, had missed the team's previous two games with shoulder soreness. Deni Avdija added 17 points and Corey Kispert scored 15, sending Sacramento to its first loss in the last five meetings in Washington.
“Any win is a great win," Kuzma said. "That’s really the NBA because any team can be beat on any given night. You’ll take a win always. It’s all about playing together and playing hard, playing smart. I feel like that was one of the smarter games we played all year, from start to finish.”
Jordan Poole scored 14 for the Wizards, while Richaun Holmes added six points and 16 rebounds against his former team.
De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and Malik Monk scored 20 to lead the Kings, who fell to 16-8 in back-to-back games. Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and 14 rebounds for his 52nd consecutive double-double, but the Kings struggled from 3-point range, hitting just 11 of 39 from outside the arc.
“Tough loss, especially where we are right now in our race for that playoff spot,” said Kings coach Mike Brown. “But you got to give the Wizards credit, their coaching staff a lot of credit. They basically took it to us. Kuzma was a handful. We did not have answers for him tonight. We tried to double team him at times and he still found a way to hit big shots.”
It took a while for the Kings to get going, but they went on an 18-0 run in the final five minutes of the second quarter to erase the Wizards' 54-36 lead.
Fox missed 12 of his first 16 attempts in the first half, but still shared the team lead with Monk, with 10 points apiece.
“We only gave up 109 points which is not a terrible defensive game,” Fox said. “We turned them over 20 times. I think defensively we gave ourselves chances to win and for me, obviously, I have to be able to make some of those easier shots.”
Kuzma's drive midway through the second provided Washington with its largest lead, 52-33. He had a game-high 18 at the break.
The Wizards came out of halftime on fire again with a 13-2 run, highlighted by Kuzma, to push the lead to 69-56.
Sacramento went on a 24-8 run spanning the third and start of the fourth, as Fox and Monk got hot. Fox's 14-footer gave the Kings an 88-87 lead with 8:38 remaining. But the Wizards took over from there, led by Avdija and Kispert, for their 12th win of the season and third win in their last 10 games against the Kings.
“One of the things I liked was we had some really good stretches in the game and we had some tough ones but we were really resilient," said Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe. "They made some big runs and they are a good team. But our guys answered the bell. It was really our defense that closed the game out.”
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Domantas Sabonis vs. Richaun Holmes (Wizards gains possession) | ||
| 11:43 | | Corey Kispert misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:40 | | Richaun Holmes offensive rebound | ||
| 11:34 | | Keegan Murray blocks Deni Avdija's two point driving layup | ||
| 11:32 |  | Domantas Sabonis defensive rebound | ||
| 11:26 | | De'Aaron Fox misses two point running finger roll layup | ||
| 11:23 | | Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound | ||
| 11:18 | | De'Aaron Fox shooting foul (Corey Kispert draws the foul) | ||
| 11:18 | | +1 | Corey Kispert makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 0-1 |
| 11:18 | | +1 | Corey Kispert makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 0-2 |
| 10:57 | | +2 | Keegan Murray makes two point stepback jump shot | 2-2 |
| 10:38 | | +3 | Jordan Poole makes three point jump shot (Kyle Kuzma assists) | 2-5 |
| 10:28 | | De'Aaron Fox misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:25 | | Richaun Holmes defensive rebound | ||
| 10:17 | | Richaun Holmes misses two point cutting layup | ||
| 10:16 | | Richaun Holmes offensive rebound | ||
| 10:16 | | Richaun Holmes misses two point tip layup | ||
| 10:16 | | Kings defensive rebound | ||
| 10:16 | | Kings 60 second timeout | ||
| 10:02 | | Harrison Barnes misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 9:58 | | Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound | ||
| 9:47 | | Jordan Poole turnover (bad pass) (Keon Ellis steals) | ||
| 9:44 | | Jordan Poole shooting foul (Harrison Barnes draws the foul) | ||
| 9:44 | | +1 | Harrison Barnes makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 3-5 |
| 9:44 | | Harrison Barnes misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 9:40 | | Keegan Murray offensive rebound | ||
| 9:29 | | +2 | Keegan Murray makes two point pullup jump shot (De'Aaron Fox assists) | 5-5 |
| 9:11 | | Jordan Poole turnover (bad pass) (De'Aaron Fox steals) | ||
| 9:08 | | +2 | Keon Ellis makes two point running alley-oop dunk (De'Aaron Fox assists) | 7-5 |
| 8:54 | | Corey Kispert turnover (lost ball) (De'Aaron Fox steals) | ||
| 8:48 | | De'Aaron Fox misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:46 | | Deni Avdija defensive rebound | ||
| 8:39 | | +2 | Richaun Holmes makes two point dunk (Deni Avdija assists) | 7-7 |
| 8:27 | | +2 | Keegan Murray makes two point pullup jump shot (Domantas Sabonis assists) | 9-7 |
| 8:10 | | Domantas Sabonis personal foul (Corey Kispert draws the foul) | ||
| 7:59 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point driving finger roll layup | 9-9 |
| 7:40 | | Keon Ellis misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 7:38 | | Deni Avdija defensive rebound | ||
| 7:36 | | Deni Avdija turnover (lost ball) (De'Aaron Fox steals) | ||
| 7:33 | | Harrison Barnes misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:27 | | Richaun Holmes defensive rebound | ||
| 7:17 | | +3 | Deni Avdija makes three point jump shot (Kyle Kuzma assists) | 9-12 |
| 7:05 | | Richaun Holmes shooting foul (Harrison Barnes draws the foul) | ||
| 7:05 | | +1 | Harrison Barnes makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-12 |
| 7:05 | | +1 | Harrison Barnes makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-12 |
| 6:50 | | Jordan Poole misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 6:47 | | Richaun Holmes offensive rebound | ||
| 6:40 | | +2 | Deni Avdija makes two point driving layup | 11-14 |
| 6:25 | | +2 | Keegan Murray makes two point pullup jump shot | 13-14 |
| 6:12 | | Richaun Holmes misses two point driving layup | ||
| 6:10 | | Keegan Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 6:05 | | De'Aaron Fox misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 6:02 | | Richaun Holmes defensive rebound | ||
| 5:52 | | Keegan Murray shooting foul (Kyle Kuzma draws the foul) | ||
| 5:52 | | +1 | Kyle Kuzma makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-15 |
| 5:52 | | +1 | Kyle Kuzma makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 13-16 |
| 5:37 | | Keegan Murray misses two point jump shot | ||
| 5:33 | | Richaun Holmes defensive rebound | ||
| 5:19 | | +2 | Corey Kispert makes two point driving floating jump shot (Kyle Kuzma assists) | 13-18 |
| 5:08 | | +2 | Domantas Sabonis makes two point turnaround hook shot | 15-18 |
| 4:51 | | +3 | Kyle Kuzma makes three point jump shot (Johnny Davis assists) | 15-21 |
| 4:38 | | +2 | Davion Mitchell makes two point cutting layup (Domantas Sabonis assists) | 17-21 |
| 4:21 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point driving dunk | 17-23 |
| 4:15 | | Keegan Murray misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:12 | | Richaun Holmes defensive rebound | ||
| 4:05 | | +2 | Jordan Poole makes two point driving finger roll layup | 17-25 |
| 4:05 | | Kings 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:42 | | +2 | Malik Monk makes two point driving finger roll layup | 19-25 |
| 3:26 | | Kyle Kuzma misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:25 | | Anthony Gill offensive rebound | ||
| 3:25 | | +2 | Anthony Gill makes two point tip layup | 19-27 |
| 3:16 | | Anthony Gill shooting foul (Domantas Sabonis draws the foul) | ||
| 3:16 | | +1 | Domantas Sabonis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 20-27 |
| 3:16 | | +1 | Domantas Sabonis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 21-27 |
| 2:51 | | Deni Avdija misses two point jump shot | ||
| 2:50 | | Harrison Barnes defensive rebound | ||
| 2:38 | | Johnny Davis shooting foul (Malik Monk draws the foul) | ||
| 2:38 | | +1 | Malik Monk makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 22-27 |
| 2:38 | | +1 | Malik Monk makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-27 |
| 2:18 | | +2 | Johnny Davis makes two point driving floating jump shot | 23-29 |
| 2:05 | | Chris Duarte misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:00 | | De'Aaron Fox offensive rebound | ||
| 1:58 | | De'Aaron Fox misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:55 | | Jordan Poole defensive rebound | ||
| 1:44 | | Anthony Gill misses three point jump shot | ||
| 1:39 | | Alex Len defensive rebound | ||
| 1:25 | | +2 | Harrison Barnes makes two point driving floating jump shot (De'Aaron Fox assists) | 25-29 |
| 1:13 | | +3 | Deni Avdija makes three point jump shot (Anthony Gill assists) | 25-32 |
| 0:59 | | De'Aaron Fox misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 0:57 | | Deni Avdija defensive rebound | ||
| 0:47 | | Harrison Barnes shooting foul (Deni Avdija draws the foul) | ||
| 0:47 | | Deni Avdija misses regular free throw 1 of 3 | ||
| 0:47 | | Wizards offensive rebound | ||
| 0:47 | | Deni Avdija misses regular free throw 2 of 3 | ||
| 0:47 | | Wizards offensive rebound | ||
| 0:47 | | +1 | Deni Avdija makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 25-33 |
| 0:36 | | Johnny Davis shooting foul (Malik Monk draws the foul) | ||
| 0:36 | | +1 | Malik Monk makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-33 |
| 0:36 | | +1 | Malik Monk makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-33 |
| 0:22 | | Jordan Poole misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 0:19 | | Johnny Davis offensive rebound | ||
| 0:19 | | Malik Monk shooting foul (Johnny Davis draws the foul) | ||
| 0:19 | | +1 | Johnny Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 27-34 |
| 0:19 | | +1 | Johnny Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-35 |
| 0:01 | | Chris Duarte turnover (lost ball) (Anthony Gill steals) | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:44 | | Anthony Gill shooting foul (Alex Len draws the foul) | ||
| 11:44 | | +1 | Alex Len makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 28-35 |
| 11:44 | | +1 | Alex Len makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 29-35 |
| 11:29 | | Justin Champagnie misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:23 | | Alex Len defensive rebound | ||
| 11:15 | | De'Aaron Fox misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:12 | | Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound | ||
| 11:01 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point driving floating jump shot | 29-37 |
| 10:54 | | De'Aaron Fox misses two point driving reverse layup | ||
| 10:51 | | Patrick Baldwin Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | +3 | Patrick Baldwin Jr. makes three point jump shot (Jared Butler assists) | 29-40 |
| 10:39 | | Kings 60 second timeout | ||
| 10:24 | | Harrison Barnes misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:21 | | Jared Butler defensive rebound | ||
| 10:00 | | Kyle Kuzma misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 9:56 | | Justin Champagnie offensive rebound | ||
| 9:43 | | +2 | Anthony Gill makes two point driving floating jump shot (Justin Champagnie assists) | 29-42 |
| 9:21 | | Kyle Kuzma technical foul (Defensive three second) | ||
| 9:21 | | +1 | Malik Monk makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 30-42 |
| 9:12 | | Chris Duarte misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:08 | | Alex Len offensive rebound | ||
| 9:06 | | Chris Duarte misses two point jump shot | ||
| 9:06 | | Wizards defensive rebound | ||
| 8:54 | | Jared Butler turnover (bad pass) (De'Aaron Fox steals) | ||
| 8:50 | | Patrick Baldwin Jr. blocks Harrison Barnes's two point running reverse layup | ||
| 8:50 | | Kings offensive rebound | ||
| 8:48 | | Malik Monk misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:44 | | Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound | ||
| 8:42 | | Kyle Kuzma personal foul (Loose ball) (Chris Duarte draws the foul) | ||
| 8:42 | | Kyle Kuzma turnover (lost ball) | ||
| 8:34 | | +3 | Chris Duarte makes three point jump shot (Malik Monk assists) | 33-42 |
| 8:16 | | +2 | Patrick Baldwin Jr. makes two point driving dunk (Kyle Kuzma assists) | 33-44 |
| 8:16 | | Domantas Sabonis shooting foul (Patrick Baldwin Jr. draws the foul) | ||
| 8:16 | | +1 | Patrick Baldwin Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 33-45 |
| 8:02 | | Keegan Murray turnover (bad pass) (Patrick Baldwin Jr. steals) | ||
| 7:45 | | +3 | Kyle Kuzma makes three point jump shot (Corey Kispert assists) | 33-48 |
| 7:24 | | Chris Duarte misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:22 | | Patrick Baldwin Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 7:07 | | Keegan Murray shooting foul (Richaun Holmes draws the foul) | ||
| 7:07 | | +1 | Richaun Holmes makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 33-49 |
| 7:07 | | +1 | Richaun Holmes makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 33-50 |
| 6:51 | | Domantas Sabonis turnover (lost ball) (Jared Butler steals) | ||
| 6:36 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point driving layup | 33-52 |
| 6:23 | | +3 | Malik Monk makes three point jump shot (Keegan Murray assists) | 36-52 |
| 6:21 | | Wizards 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:01 | | Kyle Kuzma misses two point driving layup | ||
| 5:58 | | Kessler Edwards defensive rebound | ||
| 5:51 | | Malik Monk turnover (lost ball) (Kyle Kuzma steals) | ||
| 5:45 | | +2 | Kyle Kuzma makes two point turnaround jump shot | 36-54 |
| 5:34 | | Malik Monk misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:32 | | Wizards defensive rebound | ||
| 5:11 | | Deni Avdija misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:09 | | Domantas Sabonis defensive rebound | ||
| 5:05 | | Domantas Sabonis offensive foul (Charge) (Richaun Holmes draws the foul) | ||
| 5:05 | | Domantas Sabonis turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 4:51 | | Patrick Baldwin Jr. turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 4:45 | | De'Aaron Fox misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 4:44 | | Domantas Sabonis offensive rebound | ||
| 4:44 | | +2 | Domantas Sabonis makes two point tip layup | 38-54 |
| 4:32 | | Corey Kispert misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:29 | | Keon Ellis defensive rebound | ||
| 4:20 | | +2 | De'Aaron Fox makes two point driving layup | 40-54 |
| 4:20 | | Wizards 60 second timeout | ||
| 3:56 | | Kyle Kuzma misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:55 | | Wizards offensive rebound | ||
| 3:55 |