The troubling news of the day — that John Wall would be out for two weeks to let his left knee heal — was supplemented by the result of the evening, when the Wizards again lost a game they controlled. Washington’s late-game problems, subpar play against theoretically subpar opponents and wobbling play at home have all become trends with the quarter pole of the season approaching. The Wizards are a mere 5-5 at home and taking repeated steps toward a .500 record. Three points from a 108-105 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, which, like a half-dozen other games already this season, should not have been a loss:
More slippage. Washington is 10-9 now following two losses this week in which it led by double-figures at one point, and most of the fourth quarter. The Wizards were up nine points in Charlotte with 3:32 to play before losing in overtime. Saturday, they led by 15 points with 9:44 to play, 11 with 4:32 to play, and seven with 2:30 to play. They were outscored 10-0 to close the game. Bradley Beal’s final good look was a 16-foot open pullup. After being trailed by defenders all night, Beal decided to deploy his first pump fake. Pat Connaughton bit hard on it, Beal was alone at the elbow, but his shout bounced out. Washington had to foul with 2.6 to play. Beal’s last shot was a leaning 3-point attempt that never had a chance. “We thought the game was over, the game was never over,” Beal said of letting the lead go away.
Heavy lifting will come for Beal and Porter. The first night of life without Wall presented the expected model. Beal and Otto Porter carried the Wizards offensively, scoring 26 and 24 points, respectively. Only three times this season has Porter taken more than the 15 shots he attempted Saturday night. Twice, he has shot 16 times. Once, 19. He came into Saturday averaging just 10.5 shots per game. The trouble with Saturday was that he took just two shots in the fourth quarter despite being on the floor for 9:20. “We have to get him more shots,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “It’s me, it’s the ball-handler, and it’s Otto. It’s all a group effort in trying to figure out how he can get more looks.”
Match game danger with Portland. Beal pointed out that if the Wizards had taken their 15-point lead and pushed it to 20, Portland coach Terry Stotts would have likely removed Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Portland was on the second night of a back-to-back on the opposite coast. It plays again Monday in New York. A 20-point lead in the second half of the fourth quarter could have prompted Stotts to remove his star backcourt. Instead, Portland began to creep back into the game. A flagrant-1 foul on Markieff Morris led to a seven-point lead becoming a three-point lead with 1:30 to play after Jusuf Nurkic made a free throw and McCollum made a 3-pointer. At that point, Portland is in an one-possession match game with one of the best backcourts in the league. In the final 90 seconds, McCollum got to the rim for a layup and swished a difficult 20-foot jumper for a 106-105 lead with 21 seconds to play. The prior time Portland led? That was 13-12, with 5:31 to play in the first quarter.
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