After 31 winless days, the struggling Washington Wizards finally got a victory — and a blowout.
The NBA’s worst team scored 45 points in the first quarter and led by 33 points after three quarters in a 132-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks. It was only the Wizards’ second win of the season, but they made up for a season of frustration by pummeling a Hawks team that missed 10 of their first 11 shots and never recovered.
CJ McCollum starred in a game that could be an audition for a better team
The Wizards were led by a stellar game from CJ McCollum, who scored 46 points and made 10 three-pointers in 37 minutes. The 34-year-old McCollum is averaging 18.2 points for the Wizards after coming over in a salary-dump trade from the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer. To his credit, the veteran guard is playing well for a team that seemed headed for the top of the draft lottery by design.
McCollum is a consummate professional who is valuable as a veteran mentor for the extremely young Wizards, who have 10 players who are younger than Olivia Rodrigo (22). But he’s also proving that he can provide shooting for whatever playoff team inevitably needs a scoring guard in the next few months. It’s a win-win situation: The Wizards get more draft capital, and McCollum gets to play in meaningful games after the All-Star break.