WASHINGTON (AP)—The Washington Wizards didn’t care that they beat a team with only three wins. They were just happy they won at all. The Wizards beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-95 on Saturday night in a matchup of teams with the two worst records in the NBA. They broke an eight-game losing streak, their longest since 2001, with just their fifth win against 23 losses. Oklahoma City fell to 3-28.
The Thunder entered with an NBA-worst 3-27 record, with the Wizards at 4-23. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there had never been an NBA game matching teams with individually lower winning percentages—.100 for Oklahoma City and .148 for Washington—and each squad having played at least 25 games.
Antawn Jamison tied his season high with 29 points. Andray Blatche had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
“I don’t care if it’s the best team in the league—or the worst team,” Jamison said.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games. It’s important just to get a win. We were missing an All-Star and it’s important that other guys step up.”
The Wizards needed more from Jamison because their leading scorer, Caron Butler, was sidelined with a sprained left ankle. The forward, who averages 21 points, injured the ankle in Thursday’s loss at Cleveland.
Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green had 23 points.
Despite the records of the teams, the Wizards played a creditable game without Butler. Interim coach Ed Tapscott pointed to the team’s 31 assists and just 11 turnovers.
“We needed a lot of contributions from other people—particularly with Caron out,” Tapscott said. “When you lose 21 points … you’re losing a lot of things. I thought everyone did their part. They’re a young team with significant talent—with the emphasis on young. We’re less young.”
With Jamison on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter, the Wizards went on a 12-0 run to counter the Thunder’s 10-0 run. When Juan Dixon hit on a runner with 7:56 to play, Washington took an 88-78 lead.
Without Butler, the Wizards started second-year man Nick Young. Young and fellow sophomore Dominic McGuire gave Washington some added energy. McGuire had a career-high 12 points in his third game as a starter. Dixon added 13 points, including seven straight to give the Wizards a 93-82 lead with 5 minutes to play.
The Thunder were coming off a last-second loss Friday in Detroit and have lost 12 of 13.
“It’s no fun having three wins, but it’s important we stay together and we continue to compete for one another,” Oklahoma City interim coach Scott Brooks said.
“Not one guy in this locker room is a loser. Unfortunately, we are not getting wins like we feel like we should.”
Durant, a native of Washington, praised the Wizards—who have 23 losses in 28 games.
“They outworked us. We didn’t get those key stops that we needed. Point-blank,” Durant said.
“We knew they were a good team, way better than their record shows.”
Jamison, whose 29 points tied his season high, scored 10 straight for Washington late in the second quarter and early in the third to give the Wizards a 62-56 lead.
Durant’s breakaway dunk with 9.3 seconds left in the third quarter tied the score at 76-all. When he completed his dunk, he preened for the crowd, which included many friends and relatives.
Notes
Thunder F Nick Collison missed his third straight game with a fractured left thumb. He’s day-to-day, according to Brooks. … Washington F Oleksiy Pecherov, who’s played just five games this season, was out with the flu. … Since the Wizards had the maximum three players on the inactive list, Butler was not on it. … Washington has beaten the Oklahoma City franchise five straight times and won six consecutive at home. … Wizards G Mike James had a season-high 11 assists.
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