Truth be told, the Wizards didn’t have much business even being in the game they ultimately lost to the Dallas Mavericks by one point.
They defended poorly throughout — the Mavericks had a 63.8% effective field goal percentage and just 11 turnovers — and for the most part played with the kind of road-weary energy that comes on the second night of a road-road back-to-back.
They were close enough to lose a heartbreaker because Russell Westbrook had another elite game — 42 points, 10 rebound, 9 assists, including 17-30 shooting from the floor, 3-6 from three-point range and just 2 turnovers — and they did a good job on the offensive glass, led by Daniel Gafford’s 5 offensive rebounds.