After flashing a few encouraging signs, the Washington Wizards’ rebuilding efforts seem to be at a standstill.
The Wizards will look to regroup following a historic loss when they face the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Atlanta dropped its third straight game on Friday, falling 134-133 against the visiting Denver Nuggets.
The Hawks will be playing their sixth back-to-back this season when they meet the Wizards, who fell to 3-18 with a 146-101 loss to the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday.
The 45-point loss was Washington’s worst of the season and matched the fifth-worst defeat in franchise history. Boston shot 54.5% from the field and 42.6% (20 of 47) from 3-point range in the rout.
“I didn’t see our identity of how we play basketball, and that’s not acceptable,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “These (losses), you should be upset with. We should all be upset, so you use this as fuel.”
The Wizards will be short-handed again on Saturday. Tre Johnson (strained left hip flexor), Corey Kispert (fractured right thumb), Alex Sarr (right adductor strain) and Bilal Coulibaly (right oblique strain) have all been ruled out for the contest.
Khris Middleton (sore right knee), Tristan Vukcevic (bruised right knee) and Cam Whitmore (illness) are all questionable.
Keefe can only hope for a better result after Washington was outscored by the Celtics 80-42 in the second half.
“It’s painfully obvious we didn’t meet the standard that we want to play at, our competitive juice,” Keefe said. “I think we made a little bit of a run there at the end of the second quarter, but the second half was not representative of what we want to be like and who we have been lately.”
Washington beat the visiting Hawks 132-113 on Nov. 25 for one of its few wins this season.
Atlanta is looking to bounce back after allowing Denver to rally from a 23-point deficit on Friday. The Hawks led 103-94 at the end of the third quarter before the Nuggets began the fourth with a 23-3 run.
“We didn’t fight them as much as we needed to defensively,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 30 points to lead the Hawks. Jalen Johnson returned after missing one game with a strained calf and had 21 points, 18 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists.
Johnson had a triple-double in the first half, becoming the first player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
Kristaps Porzingis put up 25 points in 20 minutes after missing four games due to an illness. Snyder eased the center back into action by having Porzingis come off the bench for the first time this season.
“Obviously, it’s not what I love, you know?” Porzingis said about being a reserve. “But I think it makes sense in limited minutes, and I will do whatever is best for the team. When I say those words, I really mean it. I’m here just to help this team win.”
Alexander-Walker has scored at least 20 points in five straight games. His hot streak has helped Atlanta fill the scoring void left by All-Star point guard Trae Young, who sprained his right knee medial collateral ligament on Oct. 29.
