Sarr shines as Wizards overcome adversity, clinching consecutive wins and sweeping the season series against the Grizzlies.
After defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 116-112 on Sunday, the Washington Wizards have won consecutive basketball games for the first time since March 15, 2025.
Washington also swept the season series with Memphis for the first time since the 2018 season.
Washington was led by big man Alex Sarr who had another very strong performance, scoring 20 points, hauling in nine rebounds and six blocks. After tonight, Sarr now has seven games where he scored 15 or more points while recording at least three blocks this season.
However, tonights win over Memphis was a team effort, as eight players recorded double digit points.
With sophomore forward Kyshawn George sidelined tonight with left hip flexor soreness, third year wing Bilal Coulibaly was heavily relied on offensively. Coulibaly had another encouraging performance, where he scored 14 points on 6/15 shooting from the field while hauling in eight rebounds. This is the third consecutive game where Coulibaly scored double figures.
Rookie guard Tre Johnson III impressed, once again, tonight. Johnson scored 14 points on 5/11 shooting in 26 minutes -- a modest stat line for the rookie. However, Johnson looked very comfortable operating as a primary ball handler tonight, as he put up a career high four assists tonight. It is extremely encouraging to watch Johnson gain confidence as a ball handler.
The young Washington core faced a lot of adversity in this matchup, as they were down four points heading into the fourth quarter. Memphis ended the third quarter on a 19-0 scoring run, but the Wiz Kids did not back down, as they outscored Memphis by eight points in the fourth quarter.
Washington also dominated the glass, out rebounding Memphis 54 to 43. Washington had five more offensive rebounds and six more defensive rebounds than Memphis.
Washington has taken tremendous strides as a rebounding team this season, in large part to forward Justin Champagnie. After hauling in 12 rebounds tonight, Champagnie is now averaging 7.9 rebounds per game in the month of December.
Champagnie is one of the best rebounding forwards in the NBA, as his 11.8 rebounds a game per 36 minutes is the most of any player 6-foot-6 or shorter since Charles Barkley.
Washington is arguably playing their BEST brand of basketball since the 2022-23 season, and it is extremely encouraging to watch the young core click.
After winning four of their last seven games, Washington will look to win their third consecutive game on Monday where they host the Pheonix Suns at Capital One Arena.