Wizards hope to find success at home, welcome Mavs
The Washington Wizards aim to snap a three-game home skid on Thursday when they face the Dallas Mavericks to open a six-game homestand.
The Wizards had lost five of their previous six games overall before posting a 108-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
Kyle Kuzma scored 20 points and former Maverick Kristaps Porzingis collected 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Wizards, who enjoyed a 50-27 edge in bench points.
Jordan Goodwin did his fair share of the heavy lifting in that regard.
Goodwin, 24, made all seven of his shots from the floor to finish with a career-high 17 points on Monday. He also had five assists, four rebounds and two blocks to step up in place of Bradley Beal (health and safety protocols) and Delon Wright (hamstring).
Goodwin will have another opportunity on Thursday. Beal was ruled out for the game on Wednesday by coach Wes Unseld Jr.
Rui Hachimura scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half on Monday. He has nine double-digit scoring games off the bench this season.
As for Porzingis, he’ll be reacquainted with a familiar face in Luka Doncic.
Doncic was held under 30 points for the first time this season on Wednesday. The three-time All-Star made just 9 of 29 shots from the floor — and 2 of 11 from 3-point range — to finish with 24 points as the Mavericks saw their four-game winning streak come to a halt with a 94-87 setback to the Orlando Magic.
Former Wizard Spender Dinwiddie made four 3-pointers to highlight his season-high 29-point performance on Wednesday, two days after being limited to two points in a 96-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Doncic collected 33 points and 10 assists in the Mavericks’ 120-114 home loss to the Wizards on Nov. 27, 2021. He then scored 36 points in a 135-103 setback in Washington on April 1.
