Team woes mount as Sarr's ejection and Coulibaly's injury derail Wizards in loss to the Clippers.
The Washington Wizards continued their west-coast stint with a 119-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Wizards have lost four-straight, all by double-digit margins. After a solid stretch of basketball where the team won seven of 12 games, the team has taken a slight step back.
The Clippers led by as much as 24 in the first half before Washington cut the deficit to two late in the third quarter after a 21-4 run. The Wizards were without their top big Alex Sarr most of the game. He received his second technical 13 minutes into the game after he slammed the ball in frustration. The ejection is the first of Sarr's NBA career.
Another key loss came for Washington early, but this one might have larger consequences. Bilal Coulibaly left the game after ten minutes with lower back tightness.
Coulibaly told reporters after the game he had been feeling tightness for a few days, and a bad step caused it to flare up in them. This becomes his fifth unique injury of the 2025 season, which started with him sidelined following surgery on his thumb.
"It's still tight, but I'll be good. It's just tightness. Nothing crazy," Coulibaly said.
Kyshawn George put together one of his better performances of the year. He scored 23 points on an efficient nine of 15 shooting. He also finished the game turnover-free, something he had struggled with mightily since returning from injury.
George also finished a plus-five, which stands out in a 14-point loss.
Bub Carrington has another solid performance distributing the basketball, dishing out seven assists with only one turnover. It's the second night in a row he's notched the same line. However, he struggled shooting the ball. Carrington went one for 11 from the field, and didn't connect on any of six attempts from behind the arc.
Washington had a hard time containing Kawhi Leonard all night. He scored 33 points, making threes at an unbelievable 63% rate. Leonard hit seven three-pointers and chipped in on defense with four steals.
Washington took better care of the basketball than the last three nights. After an abysmal 22-turnover performance in Phoenix, it cut that deficit in half in Los Angeles.
Washington's loss dropped it to the third-worst record in the league, surpassing the Sacramento Kings, who have won three in a row.
The Wizards are back on the floor on Friday when they take on the Sacramento Kings out west.