A career game from Kispert helped lift the Wizards past the Spurs in a 136-124 win. The win was also pushed forward thanks to a tremendous night shooting (from every part of the court) on behalf of the Wizards.
Such a night from Kispert was crucial due to Washington being without Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma for the Friday night showdown.
Kispert finished the night with a career-high 26 points after hitting on 6 of his 9 3-point attempts. Those 6 made 3-pointers tied his previous career-high, which he set 362 days before last night’s game. The guard out of Gonzaga would also tally 5 rebounds and 2 assists to complete his night.
The Wizards also saw three other players, Deni Avdija, Kristaps Porzingis, and Delon Wright, reach the 20-point mark.
Porzingis, who has surpassed 20 points in each of the last three games he has played, reached that mark once again after an efficient night shooting. The Latvian 7-footer shot 7-11 from the field and 2-3 from deep. While he wasn’t as trigger-happy as he can be sometimes, he was active on other parts of the floor, bringing in 9 rebounds, handing out 5 assists, and going a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe. Porzingis was also quiet on the defensive end, failing to reach his average of a block per game, but San Antonio didn’t have a player over 6 ’10’’ on the floor.
With Kuzma missing yet another game, Avdija saw a bigger role with Washington. However, the brighter lights didn’t phase him. He would finish with 21 points, just the 4th time this season he reached 20+ points, on 9-14 shooting, a trend that all the Wizards followed against the Spurs. Avdija would also haul in 11 rebounds, making it his 10th double-double this season, and dish out 6 assists.
Gafford and Morris had quiet games but still shot the ball well from the field. Despite this, Coach Unseld only chose to go four men deep into his bench. Those four players were Anthony Gill, Delon Wright, Jordan Goodwin, and Johnny Davis.
Wright would have the best night out of the four, finishing with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in 29 minutes.
For San Antonio, the legendary Gregg Popovich would see all five of his starters reach double figures, with 23-year-old Keldon Johnson eclipsing 30 points, as well as two bench players hitting double figures.
Johnson’s 30 points were only half of his night, bringing in 10 rebounds as well. The former first-round pick emerged as a young star for the Spurs, consistently reaching 20+ points every night. However, his 30 points would only come with the help of point guard, Tre Jones, who was handing out assists left and right, amassing 12 in the loss.
Going forward, the Wizards have to keep their turnovers down, which they did against the Spurs. They do, though, have to force more turnovers, only forcing 5 out of San Antonio on Friday night.
The win pushed Washington to 33-41 and 12th in the Eastern Conference. With only 8 games remaining, the margin for error is extremely low for Unseld and his guys. The Wizards next suit up on Sunday at 6 pm EST against the Toronto Raptors.
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