(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The likelihood of watching the Washington Wizards play in the 2016 post season has become very slim. The Minnesota Timberwolves left a devastating impact on the Wizards playoff hopes when they dealt a demoralizing double-overtime 132-129 loss to Washington Friday night.
The Wizards have now dropped to three-and-a-half games behind the Detroit Pistons for the eighth-seed final playoff spot. They now sit at 10th place in the Eastern Conference with a long five-game away stretch and less than two-and-a-half weeks remaining in the regular season ahead of them.
Timberwolves guard Zach Levine hit two game-changing three-pointers which tied up the game and sent it into overtime. But while his shooting certainly affected the game’s outcome, the biggest issue was Washington letting the score stay so close throughout the game. They gave Minnesota opportunities time and time again to get right back in and take the lead.
Wizards guard Bradley Beal led the night with 26 points and five assists. Guard John Wall followed with 22 points and 16 assists.
Washington center Marcin Gortat finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but he missed two foul shots in double-overtime that would have put the team in the lead with 15 seconds remaining in the game. The Wizards came close to entering a third overtime but forward Jared Dudley’s three-point attempt in the final seconds bounced off the front of the rim.
Washington was missing a strong threat and shooter with forward Markieff Morris out. He left the game in the first quarter with a calf strain in his left leg.
Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns led the court in scoring with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate and point guard Zach LaVine followed with 25 points, and center Gorgui Dieng logged 18. Minnesota also had a perfect free-throw scoring night, hitting 22 of 22.
After the game, it was easy to see Beal wasn’t happy with the night’s outcome.
“It was a horrible loss…” he said, “Plain and simple. There’s no explanation about it. We shouldn’t have lost that game.”
It truly was a devastating loss for the fans and the players as the Wizards led by seven points with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. The most frustrating thing is that they had a lot of opportunities to create more separation and get what would have been a much needed win.
Washington will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers Sunday.