OKLAHOMA CITY — The Washington Wizards moved from one struggling young team to another Friday, hoping the Oklahoma City Thunder would provide an opportunity to rebound from a dismal loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander let one fly but missed on a desperation three with less than a second on the clock that had Coach Wes Unseld Jr. holding his breath.
“Lucky,” Unseld said when asked how to describe the win.
Even with slightly better defense toward the end, Washington (12-7) never had full control of the game.
It entered the fourth with a slim lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander had a dunk with 31 seconds remaining that got the Thunder (6-13) within a possession of the lead — and in familiar territory. Oklahoma City has three major comeback wins this season, a pair against the Lakers and one against the Spurs.
“We talked about that even before the game. These guys are going to play to the wire,” Unseld said. “It’s not something that you can take for granted thinking they’re just going to go away."
Luguentz Dort bothered the Wizards all night and had 21 points, and Oklahoma City profited from 15 Washington turnovers. Five came from Bradley Beal and Spencer Dinwiddie, the team’s primary ballhandlers.
Beal and Caldwell-Pope had 20 points apiece. Kyle Kuzma had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Center Daniel Gafford had seven points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight blocks.
Washington suffered its worst loss of the season Wednesday, falling to the Pelicans, 127-102.
Here is what to know about Friday’s victory:
Gafford gets his blocks
Unseld has placed a fair share of the team’s recent issues on disorganization and stagnation from the starters. Gafford said in an interview Friday before the game that starting with more energy — he’s striving to match what Montrezl Harrell brings off the bench, specifically — and being more vocal as the so-called quarterback of the defense have been priorities for him.
That burst of energy came, unsurprisingly, at the rim. The 6-foot-9 big man had a career-high eight blocks against Oklahoma City’s youngsters, surpassing his old career high by the end of the third quarter and matching his season high of four by halftime.
“I’m still shocked at, like, eight blocks,” Caldwell-Pope said. “Some of them were so impressive I was like, ‘How did you even get it?’ … He was down there just protecting the paint like he’s supposed to.”
Gafford credited his success to two things: He kept his game simple, prioritizing his strengths, and he focused more on his mental approach.
“I’m like an old Pontiac or old Camaro. You’ve got to let them warm up before you get them on the road,” Gafford said.
Caldwell-Pope impresses on defense
Although Gilgeous-Alexander had the game in his hands in the final second, he scored just 15 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field thanks in large part to Caldwell-Pope’s lockdown defense. Unseld praised him for his defense before he gave him props for his threes in the fourth quarter.
Caldwell-Pope had the unenviable task of switching between Gilgeous-Alexander, who is 6-6 and 180 pounds, and Dort, equally fearsome but with an opposite body type at 6-3 and 215 pounds. He chalked his defense up to extensive pregame preparation and an ability to make his opponent uncomfortable early.
As for his two late threes, Caldwell-Pope said clutch shooting is all about being decisive. Beal, who assisted on the second three, told him the same thing.
“I tell him anytime it touches his hand, [the ball] needs to go up,” Beal said. “… And that’s all he did, man. I saw he had it going early — keep giving it to him, keep giving it to him. He shoots it with power. That’s what we need.”
Wizards surge in third
Despite shaky defending on the perimeter, Washington’s defense steadily improved throughout the night after allowing Oklahoma City to shoot 48 percent from the field in the first quarter. At the start, the Thunder cherry-picked shots and ran plays nearly uninhibited while the Wizards couldn’t create enough to match it on the other end.
They bothered their host more on defense in the second quarter and hit a high point in the third, when Oklahoma City made 5 of 21 attempts from the field and went nearly six minutes at the end of the quarter without a bucket.
Dinwiddie probably out vs. Dallas
Unseld said Dinwiddie probably will sit out for rest against the Mavericks on Saturday. The point guard has not yet played the second half of a back-to-back this year as part of a recovery management plan after having surgery to repair his ACL in January.