
Wizards roll past Magic, 130-103
The Wizards rebounded from a 35-point blowout loss to the Nets on Friday night with a 130-103 shellacking of the Magic on Saturday night. Washington made 16 3-pointers and shot 54.7% in the game. Seven Wizards scored in double figures, led by Mike Scott’s 18 points off the bench. John Wall recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 assists in 30-plus minutes. The Wizards moved to 4-1 on the second part of back-to-backs with the win.
The Wizards came out firing, tying a season-high with 37 points in the first quarter. Utilizing a mismatch against the smaller Mario Hezonja, Markieff Morris had nine of his 16 points in the first quarter, making all three of his field goal attempts. Washington dominated in the paint in the opening period, shooting 72.2% from the field overall. Mike Scott had seven quick points in the quarter, and would make 7-of-8 shots on the night. Scott has now made 63 of his last 88 shots, as his incredible run continued.
"I normally don’t like to talk about it if a guy is shooting well, but I keep talking about him and he keeps shooting better," Scott Brooks said about Scott after the game. "When you take good shots, you have a chance to make them because they work. He works on it every day. That guy is a pro."
Jonathon Simmons, who had 11 points in the opening 7:32, would get in foul trouble in the first quarter and Orlando struggled offensively without him. The already short-handed Magic lost center Nikola Vucevic in the first quarter with a broken hand, making Elfrid Payton Orlando’s only remaining normal starter playing on Saturday night. The Wizards took advantage of his absence, out-rebounding the Magic 49-28 and scoring a season-high 25 second chance points on 12 offensive rebounds.
Washington’s bench had 21 points in the second quarter, outscoring the Magic altogether. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Scott each scored seven points in the second, leading a second unit that would score 35 points in the first half on 14-of-20 field goals. The Wizards had nine of their 25 second chance points in the 35-point quarter. It was another season-high for the Wizards, who would finish with 72 first half points, only one shy of the team’s season-high for any half. Washington led 72-48 at the half.
The Magic won the third quarter with 35 points to the Wizards’ 28, as Payton and Wes Iwundu combined for 23 points. The Wizards’ starters played almost the entire quarter, with Otto Porter Jr. hitting three triples and Bradley Beal scoring eight of his 17 points. Despite being outplayed in the third, the Wizards went to the fourth quarter up 17 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Wizards’ bench put away the Magic without many issues, outscoring them 30-20. Scott led the group with eight points in the fourth, while Oubre hit two triples and Tomas Satoransky dished out four assists. Jodie Meeks also led the team with a +22 during his time on the court on Saturday night.
"I thought we played hard. It’s really simple: if you play hard, you give yourself a chance to win," Brooks said after the win. "If you don’t, then you have no chance. Tonight, we played hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win. John [Wall] set the table. He gave guys a lot of open shots. He probably could have had 20 assists tonight because we missed a lot of easy ones off of his passes, but 13, we can live with that.”
The Wizards scored a season-high 130 points when all was said and done, putting together an impressive game over the injury-riddled Magic. The shot distribution was on point, with Wall playing some of his best basketball of the season. Morris’ 14 first half points set the tone in the opening 24 minutes, while the rest of the team’s main scoring options – Wall, Beal, Porter, Oubre, Scott, and Meeks – were all making shots.
“Tonight was great. The ball was moving, extra passes were being made, people were making shots," Scott said. "Just have to take that to Boston. That’s easier said than done, especially on the road and a Christmas game, a rivalry game. So we just have to build on that.”
As Scott mentioned, the Wizards (18-15) head to Boston next to take on the Celtics (27-9) for a Christmas Day showdown at 5:30pm on Monday. All eyes will be on the Wizards and Celtics in that time slot, while many of the team's families and friends join them in Boston.
"When we get these opportunities all we can do is go out there and cherish it," Wall said of being able to play on Christmas Day. "Our families will be there to watch us and hopefully we will come out there with a win.”