It’s been a long season in Washington.
The frustration from Wizards fans was made clear in Thursday’s (all times AEDT) 114-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when they savagely booed one of their own – Jordan Poole.
Poole had a game to forget on Thursday, going scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting from the field and fouling out in 24 minutes.
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It was made worse when he missed a tough fadeaway shot down the stretch of the fourth quarter with the Wizards down four, leading to vocal boos around Capital One Arena.
Poole’s struggles for the Wizards since being traded from Golden State last off-season have in many ways personified the team’s issues. Going into Thursday’s game, Poole has averaged 16.2 points per game – down from 20.4 last season – on 40 per cent shooting from the field.
Washington, meanwhile, fell to 9-41 after the loss to the Cavaliers to continue their woes.
Donovan Mitchell poured in a game-high 40 points for Cleveland and Evan Mobley added 22 points and eight boards as JB Bickerstaff’s side won its seventh in a row to consolidate the East’s second seed.
ELSEWHERE …
The Golden State Warriors blew past the Philadelphia 76ers 127-104 at Wells Fargo Centre as Nick Nurse’s team navigates a tough stretch without superstar centre Joel Embiid.
It marked a third-straight loss for Philadelphia (30-20), who’s now at risk of dropping into the play-in zone, while Golden State (23-25) crept closer to .500, now a game behind Utah in the West’s 10th seed and final play-in spot.
The result came despite Steph Curry being held to just nine points in 24 minutes as starters for both teams were used sparingly in the second half, such was the one-sided result.
Curry might’ve been unlucky to not have at least three more points though.
In the first quarter, the Warriors sharpshooter hit a huge stepback three, however the play was overturned after the Sixers successfully challenged the call – with an offensive foul called on Curry for kicking out his leg.
Fair to say basketball fans on social media, like Curry, were surprised the call was overturned.
ALL RESULTS
CAVALIERS 114 WIZARDS 106
RAPTORS 123 HORNETS 117
SPURS 104 HEAT 116
HAWKS 117 CELTICS 125
WARRIORS 127 SIXERS 104
PISTONS – KINGS
PELICANS – CLIPPERS