Recap: Wizards beat Kings, 116-111

The Wizards nearly gave up a 14-point fourth quarter lead, but a JT Thor three pushed them over the finish line.

A sparse Capital One Arena crowd bore witness to an ever-elusive Washington Wizards win over the Sacramento Kings tonight, 116-111.

Tonight’s game was a matchup between two teas whose aspirations could not be further apart. The Wizards are actively engaged in a tank-off with the Utah Jazz to claim the worst record in the NBA this season and thus the best draft lottery odds. The Kings, meanwhile, are gasping for air; every game is like Game 7 of the NBA Finals for a Sacramento team clinging on to the final play-in spot.

Despite this, the Kings did not want to win this game. They trailed by double digits for the vast majority of the second half, they kept splitting free throws and they refused to take efficient shots.

Speaking of not wanting to win the game, the Wizards leaned completely into the stealth tank. Jordan Poole and Alex Sarr sat the entire fourth quarter, and Anthony Gill logged a season high in minutes with 31. Even then, the Wizards managed to pull through for their 17th win of the season.

Game Notes

• During a first-quarter dead ball, Jonas Valanciunas — who was a Wizard earlier this season — lifted his former teammate Bub Carrington off the ground in a bear hug.

• Jordan Poole flashed some less-than-stellar shot selection tonight, but he made up for it by hitting a coast-to-coast halftime buzzer beater.

• It feels like AJ Johnson is a completely different player every time up and down the court. Sometimes he leverages his hyper-athleticism to pull off an unbelievable play on offense, and sometimes he leaves bunnies hanging on the rim. You could tell me Johnson has a 15-year NBA career ahead of him, and you could tell me he’s on Fenerbahce in two years — I would believe you either way.
• Sacramento’s Keon Ellis is a hawk in the passing lanes and locks down his defensive assignments on the perimeter. He will make an All-Defense team someday.
• A fight nearly broke out between Tristan Vukcevic and who I believe from the angle I was sitting was Malik Monk. It looked for a second like an actual brawl might break out, but the two were separated just in time.
• Of all the players on the court, JT Thor hit the go-ahead three-pointer. It was his 17th attempt of the season and just his fifth make.

The Wizards’ next game is tomorrow night at home versus the Orlando Magic.