For the first time since before Halloween, the Washington Wizards have won a basketball game. Despite Nikola Jokic pouring in a career-high 56 points, the Wizards held off the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night for a 122-113 victory that snapped a 16-game losing streak.
Even with the Nuggets missing Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, few gave the hapless Wizards, who were coming off back-to-back defeats by 30-plus points, a chance in this one. Almost immediately, though, it was clear they had some juice for this one, and they were the better team all night long.
With 8:10 remaining in the first quarter, Carlton Carrington hit a 3-pointer to put the Wizards in front, and they never trailed again. They led by as many as 15 early in the third quarter, and held off the Nuggets down the stretch despite a valiant effort from Jokic.
The three-time MVP would always prefer to pass, but he's been forced to be more of a scorer this season due to the Nuggets' injuries and weak supporting cast. He entered Saturday averaging a 29.9 points on 20.4 shots per game, both of which are career-highs. Those marks will go up after he went for 56 points on 22 of 38 from the field. He also chipped in 16 rebounds and eight assists, and personally accounted for 74 of the the team's 113 points.
That Jokic's stunning showing was not enough for the Nuggets is a microcosm of their season. With the loss, the Nuggets are now 11-10 and have dropped to ninth place in the crowded Western Conference.
As for the Wizards, they remain in last place overall at 3-18, which is actually only half a game worse than the injury-riddled New Orleans Pelicans. Even with this surprise win, their efforts to Capture the Flagg should continue. The best aspect of this result for the Wizards is that they avoided setting the new longest losing streak in franchise history. Instead, they'll be tied for the worst with last season's team and the 2010 group.
Jordan Poole hit a number of ridiculous 3-pointers en route to 39 points, while Justin Champagnie, starting for the first time this season, put up a career-high 23 points.