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League-worst Wizards and Kings square off on a busy schedule………………………
The Kings (40-28) were looking at three games spread across four days in two different countries after their homestand finale on Monday ended in overtime. On Wednesday, they made the most of their journey into Canada by defeating the Toronto Raptors 123-89 to win their second straight game.
On the second night of a back-to-back with an overseas journey in between, the Kings find themselves in a far better position than they could have anticipated, riding the momentum of the road blowout and not having any player forced into more than 31 minutes of action in Toronto.
In just 28 minutes apiece, Domantas Sabonis (24th triple-double) and De’Aaron Fox (20 points in a game-high) completed their statistical padding. The Kings will have another chance to double their fun when they play the struggling Wizards (11-58).
The Wizards have allowed 127 or more points in each of the last four games, and Washington has lost five straight games, all by a margin of at least 12 points.
When the Wizards traveled to Sacramento on December 18, they defeated the Kings 143–131, so more of the same was probably to be expected, particularly in the scoring department. Leading the league in triple-doubles, Sabonis finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in that game.
But when emerging star Keon Ellis of the Kings lines up against inconsistent guard Jordan Poole of the Wizards, the game with enormous potential for scoring can take an unexpected defensive turn.
The Kings are fully aware of Poole. Throughout his career, the Golden State Warriors’ former opponent, Dwyane Wade, has scorched the Kings for twenty-two points or more five times. Among those scoring totals were twenty-two in Game 4 of the Warriors’ playoff series last year, and twenty-eight in their previous meeting this season in Sacramento.
During the seven-game Golden State series in April of last year, Ellis, a rookie for Sacramento at the time, did not play. He played just fifteen minutes off the bench during the Kings’ game against the Wizards in December.
Ellis has started three of the last five games and played at least 25 minutes in each, but he has recently assumed a bigger role, primarily because of his defense. He had a plus/minus of one in each of the four Kings victories during that time.
“He’s incredible,” Sabonis remarked. “He never leaves you. He’s in the correct place all the time. We essentially have to put him on the court whenever we need a stop.”
Ellis would probably face Poole, who has started the Wizards’ last three games, if he starts again on Thursday. In a Sunday loss to the Boston Celtics, Poole scored 31 points to go along with two 13-point performances on 9-for-30 shooting.
Poole is optimistic that better times are coming, even if the Wizards have the worst record in the league right now.
“There’s no need to change anything, because everything that I’ve done (in my career) has essentially worked,” declared the 24-year-old, who won a championship with Golden State in 2022. “Just find ways to get a little bit better, wherever I can.”