Wizards Pound Thunder, 120-98

The Washington Wizards defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 120-98, at Verizon
Center on Monday evening. The Wizards (33-21) knew they’d have to hit on all
cylinders to insure that they could keep pace with Russell Westbrook and
company, and they managed to do that and then some Monday. Washington posted
outstanding 57.5-and-61.9 percent success rates from the field and three-point
range, respectively, while seeing six players tally double-digit scoring.
Meanwhile, they did a superb defensive effort on Westbrook, limiting him to a
modest 17 points on 5-of-19 shooting, and the Thunder (31-25) to 35.4 percent
shooting overall, including one stretch of 24 consecutive missed shots.
Westbrook played just 24 minutes, as he sat for good in the third quarter.
Westbrook added four rebounds, four assists and two steals to his scoring total.
Joffrey Lauvergne matched Westbrook’s scoring total while leading the bench and
added six rebounds and four assists. Cameron Payne provided 12 points, three
boards, two assists and two steals as a reserve. Steven Adams posted nine points
and hauled in 11 rebounds, while also recording one block and one steal.
Domantas Sabonis tallied six points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block.
Jerian Grant and Alex Abrines posted matching eight-point efforts off the bench
as well. Markieff Morris paced Washington with 23 points, six rebounds, one
assist and two steals. Bradley Beal posted 22 points and three assists. Otto
Porter, Jr. managed an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double that also included two
blocks. John Wall turned in a spectacular 15-point, 14-assist double-double that
also included five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Marcin Gortat totaled 12
points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Trey Burke led the bench
with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. The Thunder heads back home to
tangle with the New York Knicks on Wednesday, while the Wizards travel to
Indiana to tangle with the Pacers on Thursday evening.