Kyle Kuzma and his partners will not make franchise history alone. While they had tied the franchise record with 16 losses in a row, the Wizards ended this series by winning last night against the Hornets (112-100). It's their first home success in 2024, and it's a huge relief.
“I think pride has done its work,” said Deni Avdija, about the sudden awakening in the last quarter. “We were like, 'Man, we've lost so many times in a row, we're trying to get out of this slump.' This is our chance. We knew this was our chance. We have some tough games coming up and this game was close, it came down to the wire, and I think everyone said, 'OK, that's enough.' »
The Wizards were trailing by 10 points at the start of the last quarter, facing the Hornets who were deprived of several major players. And then pride did the rest.
“It was their match” reacts interim coach Brian Keefe about the performance of the Kuzma-Avdija tandem. “When we play well, we make quick decisions, and his guys can go to the end. »
No fun to lose
In fact, the Wizards had not won a match since January 29, and they had not won in front of their home crowd since December 29… “It’s clearly not fun,” continues Avdija. “We can certainly get the good things out of it, like progress and learning. You can make mistakes and learn from them, but it's not fun. I think we showed character today. At one point in the match I felt like we were breaking apart again and we were all letting go. And I don’t know, something changed.”
Keefe had apparently found the right formula since he kept the same players throughout the last quarter with the following five: Poole, Kispert, Avdika, Kuzma and Holmes. Fortunately, it was only the Hornets opposite. The last time the Wizards won a game was against the Spurs…
