After clawing back from an early deficit, the Washington Wizards proved to be no match in the second half in an eventual 35 point loss against the Portland Trail Blazers
After clawing back out of a hole, the Washington Wizards were once again blown out, this time in a 123-88 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon.
Will Riley finished as the team's leading scorer with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line, in 26 minutes. Leaky Black added five points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes while Julian Reese noticed 13 rebounds and eight points in 39 minutes, his third game with ten or more rebounds over since March 5 against the Jazz.
The Blazers produced a pair of 20-plus point scorers who each finished with seven rebounds with Toumani Camara finishing with a game-high 23 points in 28 minutes while former Wizard Deni Avdija remained aggressive all night to add 20 points in 28 minutes.
Portland got off to a hot start after opening ahead 16-4 minutes into the game, but the Wizards would slowly claw back with a Will Riley three in the final seconds of the half salvaging a single digit deficit, but it was still an offensively challenging quarter for the Wizards after shooting under 30% from the field.
Washington would answer with a 7-0 run to open the second quarter, sparked by a technical on Donovan Clingan for defensive three seconds, to make it a one possession game before Bub Carrington's three midway through the quarter tied the game at 34.
Washington would again tie the game, this time at 41 after Tristan Vukcevic drilled a pair of free throws, but it proved to be the closest they got in the loss. Bub Carrington drilled a midrange in the closing minutes of the first half to make it a one point game, but Portland answered with a quick 9-0 before heading into halftime trailing, 58-47.
Portland then blew the game open in the second half, leading by as many as 39 points with the Wizards inching closer toward the end of a defeating regular season. With the loss, coupled with Indiana defeating the Miami Heat, Washington sits just 0.5 games ahead of the Pacers for the league's worst record.
Bub Carrington also left Sunday's win due to muscle cramps, finishing with 11 points, four assists and a pair of rebounds in 23 minutes.
While the Pacers won't be in action on Monday night, Washington will when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers with the road trip winding down. The Wizards will face a Lakers squad without Luke Doncic suspended one game after drawing his 16th technical foul this season.