The Washington Wizards lost the battle of the bottom feeders Wednesday 128-112 against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center.
Spectators knew what kind of game it would be when Walker Kessler shot a three to start the contest. He took two more in the opening four minutes and ended up tying his career high with six attempts.
The Wizards threatened to pull away early as Alex Sarr went off in the first quarter. A Sarr paint bucket gave Washington a 22-11 lead in the first quarter. After scoring 16 points in the first half when the two teams faced off earlier this month, the Frenchman had 20 by halftime in this one. But the Jazz (thankfully) battled back to take a 64-63 lead at the break.
Brian Keefe trotted out the Wizards’ G League unit throughout most of the second half. AJ Johnson ran point for good stretches, finishing with 12 points and six assists. He also had a sick alley-oop slam off a SLOB play.
> 6'5" AJ Johnson with an alley-oop poster over 7-foot Walker Kessler.
>
> Remember when Doc Rivers said the Kuzma-Middleton trade "took a while" to process because they liked this kid so much? [pic.twitter.com/9aOPnh4bPo](https://t.co/9aOPnh4bPo)
>
> — Bijan Todd (@bijan\_todd) [March 20, 2025](https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1902546710125220087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Colby Jones also saw his sharpshooting translate. The Xavier alum scored 24 points on 9/11 shooting and a perfect 4/4 from beyond the arc.
Utah’s more experienced lineup still, unsurprisingly, outplayed the Wizards’ third-stringers. The Jazz started the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run to take a 111-90 lead with 8:28 to play. Despite a few minor comeback attempts late, the Wizards still lost (won?) the matchup by 16.
Sarr never touched the floor in the fourth quarter. He finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks on 7/14 shooting. He started alongside Tristan Vukcevic for the first time. Vuk tallied 17 points and two blocks.
The Wizards finally head back home on Friday to take on the Orlando Magic.