Tyus Jones’ career passing night wasn’t enough.
The Washington Wizards showed some fight on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. The moxie they showed just wasn’t enough in the 123-112 loss at Capital One Arena.
Washington actually shot well in this one, finishing at 49.5% from the field and connecting on 12 threes. The ball was constantly zipping around to find an open shooter or cutter for an easy basket. The decisive ball movement helped the Wizards race out to a 9-point lead in a first quarter in which they never trailed.
Tyus Jones was key in dictating Washington’s ball movement with a whopping 17 assists to go along with his 14 points.
Assist no. 17 for @1Tyus tonight, which marks a new career high. pic.twitter.com/Yjt4ad5SxX
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) February 28, 2024
Washington allowed Golden State to go on a 31-13 run in the second quarter but battled back to trail 60-58 at the half.
However, the Wizards’ 21 turnovers ultimately did them in. Golden State took advantage of Washington’s sloppy play by getting several transition threes, leading to 28 Warriors points off turnovers.
The Warriors buried the Wizards with a barrage of threes, particularly in the third quarter. The visitors nailed 8 of their 21 triples in the third with half of them coming from Klay Thompson. The Wizards were outscored 38-17 in Q3 and trailed by 23 points heading into the fourth.
Washington cut the lead to as low as 10 points in the final frame but the massive deficit proved to be insurmountable.
Kyle Kuzma led all scorers with 27 points and 12 rebounds on 12/21 shooting. Marvin Bagley tallied 20 points and 9 assists. Jordan Poole had 12 points on a brutal 4/17 shooting clip against his former club.
The Wizards next head west for a three-game road trip starting with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.