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Washington Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook went beast mode against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. Russ shot 17-of-30 from the field for 42 points, to go along with 10 rebounds and nine assists. Unfortunately, his monster performance was not enough to propel the Wizards to the W as the Mavs were able to get away with the 125-124 victory.
According to Stat Muse, the Wizards have won just two games in the last 16 outings where one of their players dropped a 40-point performance.
Russell Westbrook balled out despite the tough loss.
42 PTS10 REB9 AST17-30 FG
The Wizards are 2-14 in their last 16 games where one of their players score 40+ points. pic.twitter.com/DpJSjNSwDW
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 2, 2021
It’s definitely very tough for players to have such an amazing game yet still come out on the losing end.
There were probably various factors that went into those losses. But generally speaking, perhaps it says that the Wizards are much better off when the scoring is more spread out across the team. Aside from Westbrook’s 42-piece, only Bradley Beal and Rui Hachimura scored in double-figures for Washington. Beal went for 29 points, while Hachimura scored 18 points in the crushing defeat.
Of course, this could have gone the Wizards’ way, and that record above could have been 3-13, which is, nonetheless, still bad. The difference ultimately came down to late-game execution and shot-making.
Down by two down the stretch, Mavs superstar Luka Doncic found an open Dorian Finney-Smith for what eventually became the game-winning triple for Dallas. Left with 9.2 ticks on the clock, Washington had one more opportunity to steal the game. After fumbling the ball initially, Beal eventually got a clean look for a three at the top of the arc. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t bounce in the Wizards’ way and Westbrook’s 42-point, near triple-double went to waste.
Nevertheless, this win shouldn’t discourage the Wizards much as they have been on a tear as of late. Prior to Saturday, they have been winners of 12 of their last 14. They look to rebound from this tough defeat when they take on the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
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