Wizards guard AJ Johnson drives to the basket during Wednesday's win over the Kings. (Geoff Burke/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Wednesday night’s matchup at Capital One Arena pitted one team clinging to the final play-in spot in a loaded Western Conference against a team incentivized to lose and playing with an injury-depleted roster.
So, of course, the Washington Wizards emerged with a 116-111 win, a result showing the power of the three-point shot and the unpredictability it can create.
The Sacramento Kings shot 25.6 percent (10 for 39) from deep. The Wizards, who entered the game with the second-worst three-point percentage in the league, shot 39.5 percent (17 for 43) on threes.
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“We just trusted our process,” Coach Brian Keefe said. “Play with pace. They put two on the ball — move it, continue to move it and we’re gonna get great shots.”
Perhaps the most important of the Wizards’ 17 three-pointers came with 40 seconds left. The Wizards had a nine-point lead with a little over two minutes remaining but saw that advantage dwindle to two inside the final minute. On the next Wizards possession, the ball found JT Thor, a forward on a two-way contract who had missed his lone shot attempt to that point.
Thor caught the ball on the right wing with Justin Champagnie to his right in the corner. Sacramento guard Malik Monk tried to split the difference between them but Thor’s pass fake earned him enough room to seal the win with his lone basket of the game.
“Hitting big-time shots is always a great feeling,” Thor said. “And I’ve been doing that since elementary school. So it was fun to hit that again.”
The win improves the Wizards to 17-59, 1½ games better than the Utah Jazz, which dropped to 16-61 after losing to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. The Kings dropped to 36-40.
Even though the worst three teams in the league receive equal odds at the top four picks, finishing last has a silver lining. The worst team in the league can only drop as far as the fifth pick while the second-worst team can drop to sixth and the third worst to seventh.
DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento with 29 points.
A game after only having one scorer in double figures, the Wizards had six against Sacramento. Jordan Poole scored a team-high 23 points in about 24 minutes while rookie guard Bub Carrington scored 19 points, his most since Feb. 8.
Veteran Anthony Gill played a season-high 31 minutes and tied his season high with 10 points.
“I think it says a lot about the future of this organization,” Gill said about the Wizards’ closing flurry. “If we can finish a game like that against a team who is fighting for the playoffs — and we’re a team that has nothing to lose right now, we’re a team that’s fighting for a foundation, fighting for something that’s going to be bigger than ourselves in the future — I think that our future is bright.”
Wizards notes
Despite the whistle announcing a floor foul in the closing seconds of the first quarter, Carrington played on. The rookie guard drove to the rim and leaped for a layup.
Kings center Jonas Valanciunas, who started the season with the Wizards, met him there. As Carrington jumped, Valanciunas scooped up his former teammate and held the rookie over his shoulder.
“That never happened,” Carrington joked. “That’s my guy. No hostility toward him” …
Jonas Valančiūnas and Bub Carrington had a fun on-court reunion in Washington 😂
Still protecting his rook, even on a different team! pic.twitter.com/zwcDjbE8Of
— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2025
The Capital City Go-Go’s franchise-best 31-win season ended Tuesday in the first round of the G League playoffs. The Wizards’ G League affiliate lost, 115-95, to the Maine Celtics in the Portland Expo Building.
Keefe started his pregame news conference Wednesday by praising the Go-Go and Coach Cody Toppert, who is also an assistant with the Wizards, for their ability to work under ever-changing circumstances.
“The G League’s really interesting because you’re getting guys in and out of the lineup … we’re taking guys with us at times,” he said. “ … Managing all that is a lot and I thought those guys did a tremendous job getting their team ready to play every night on short notice sometimes.” …
Reserve center Richaun Holmes played under three minutes Wednesday. The Wizards ruled him out during the game with a right shoulder contusion. Keefe said after the game that Holmes was “banged up” before the game and aggravated it on a bump in the game. …
Keefe said before the game that rookie wing Kyshawn George, who missed his fifth straight game with a left ankle sprain, has begun on-court work. The coach said he did not know if George, who injured his ankle on March 24, would return this season.