From Jackson Filyo at washingtonwizards.com
FINAL: WIZARDS 127 | MAGIC 110
BOX SCORE | PHOTOS | HIGHLIGHTS
The Wizards defeated the Magic 127-110 on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena. Washington was playing in the second game of a back-to-back and has now won three of its last four games. Kristaps Porzingis scored 13 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter and finished the night 11-18 (.611) from the field, 3-6 (.500) from 3-point range and 10-13 (.769) from the free throw line.
Porzingis has now scored 30-plus points twice and led the team in scoring eight times since debuting with the team on March 6.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope recorded his third-straight 20-plus-point game, pouring in 25 points on 10-17 (.588) from the field and 5-9 (.556) from deep. Rui Hachimura and Daniel Gafford added 17 points apiece.
After Rui Hachimura knocked down a mid-range jumper on the game’s opening possession, the Magic answered with an 8-2 run. The Wizards worked their way back behind a continued hot start from Hachimura, but Orlando wasn’t finished. The Magic started the game 11-21 (.524) from the field and 5-9 (.556) from 3-point range and took a 32-22 lead with 2:41 left in the first quarter. Chuma Okeke, who got the start over Wendell Carter Jr. (left wrist sprain), scored 13 of Orlando’s first 32 points.
Washington went down 47-35 on a driving layup from Terrence Ross, forcing a timeout from Wes Unseld Jr. Washington responded, finishing the final 7:17 of the first half on a 23-9 run to take a 58-56 lead into the break. Hachimura and Porzingis combined to score 10 of Washington’s 13 points in the final three minutes of the second quarter
Hachimura, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the first two quarters, capped the run with a transition dunk with just a couple seconds left on the clock.
The Wizards’ run continued into the third quarter, where they used a 21-8 run early in the second half to take an 82-69 lead. The Washington defense was dominant in the third quarter, holding Orlando to 8-24 (.333) from the field and 1-8 (.125) from beyond the arc.
While the defense did the work in the third, the offense took over in the fourth. The Wizards shot 15-24 (.625) from the field and 4-8 (.500) from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, led by a combined 23 points from Porzingis (13) and Daniel Gafford (10). Overall, Washington outscored Orlando 69-54 in the second half.
Tomas Satoransky helped the Wizards finish strong, adding three rebounds and three assists in the fourth quarter. He finished the night with zero points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, becoming just the third player in NBA history to record a rebound-assist double-double without scoring a point. Satoransky recorded a plus-17 rating in 27 minutes of action.
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad, you know?” Satoransky said with a laugh postgame. “I just let the game come to me…My biggest advantage is that when I get the ball I am really pushing the ball and trying to get opportunities for others.”
With the win, the Wizards sweep the four-game season series with the Magic.
