The Wizards’ win streak ends at 1.
The Washington Wizards lost the battle of winning streaks Wednesday 139-120 against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center.
The Magic entered the matchup with a 7-game win streak — tied for the longest active streak in the NBA. The Wizards, meanwhile, were fresh off their first win in nearly three weeks after beating the Detroit Pistons on Monday. We’ll call both teams equally hot.
Washington picked up where they left off in the first quarter. They took an early 12-5 lead thanks to 4 points apiece from Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. Orlando countered with a 26-14 run to end Q1 up 31-26.
JP
Deni pic.twitter.com/Om5zVXws1n— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) November 30, 2023
Deni Avdija stepped up in the second following a scoreless opening quarter. After missing his first shot of Q2, Avdija went 6-of-6 and poured in 15 points to lead all Wizards at the half. But despite Deni’s heroics, Washington still trailed 66-56 entering the break.
The Wiz made things interesting early in the third. A Kuzma triple at the 6:45 mark trimmed the deficit to 79-75. But the Magic closed the quarter strong once again with a 6-0 run that gave them a 102-89 advantage entering the fourth.
Avdija’s night unfortunately ended early in Q4. He scored his 22nd point after a tough paint bucket over ex-Wiz Mo Wagner. The Magic continued to pour it on in the final frame the 19-point victory to extend their win streak to 8.
Kuzma led the Wizards with 24 points and 6 assists. Avdija was well on his way to a career high before his right arm injury. The 4th-year pro tallied 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Poole added 19 points and 4 threes in the loss.
The Wizards have a chance at revenge Friday as part of a 2-game series against the Magic.