Hot start, cold finish: Wizards below .500 with loss to Cavs

For the first time this season, the Washington Wizards are below .500. At halftime, it looked like the Wizards were ready to cruise home with their third win in five games. They scored 42 points in a first quarter scoring binge, and 69 at the midway point — including posting a 50-12 advantage in the paint, and a 10-point lead.

They managed just 42 points the rest of the way, and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 121-111.

Advertisement

Back from a preseason ankle injury, Wizards rookie AJ Dybantsa made his career debut, scoring 19 points on 12 shots in 27 minutes.

AJ Dybantsa dunks in his first NBA game. | Getty Images

Washington ran a play for Dybantsa on the game’s opening possession. He started in the corner, and popped to the top off screens by Trae Young and Anthony Davis. Young then came up from the corner to set a ghost screen on James Harden. Harden and Watson appeared to miscommunicate — Harden expected a switch while Watson stayed with Young — and Dybantsa attacked the opening with an elite burst. And then tried to dunk on Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Allen got whistled for the foul, and Dybantsa’s first points as a pro came from the free throw line.

Dybanta’s first NBA assist came a few minutes later. He drove and got all the way to the rim, which occupied three defenders — his own man, and two help bigs. He made the kickout to Alex Sarr, who knocked down the corner three.

Advertisement

Okay, one more fanboy rave. At 8:56 of the first quarter, Dybantsa outran the entire Cleveland roster to the offensive end, and Young threw him a lob from the half court line for a highlight reel slam. You’ll see that one in Wizards highlights the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, the good feels of the first half dissolved as the more talented, experienced, and battle-tested Cavaliers asserted their will. It didn’t help that Washington’s veteran leaders were struggling as much as anyone. Ideally, Young and Davis will make plays when the youngsters are rattled or overwhelmed. In this one, they seemed mostly overwhelmed, as well.

From the Notebook

In the early going at least, Washington’s length was bothering the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/hot-start-cold-finish-wizards-110000813.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-10-29 11:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.