Kyle Kuzma poured in 28 points and Deni Avdija had a big fourth quarter to finish with 18 points as the Washington Wizards ended a 16-game losing streak by defeating the visiting Charlotte Hornets 112-100 on Friday night.
The Wizards trailed 76-68 going to the fourth quarter, but they gave their fans a rare homecourt treat. They scored 44 points in the final quarter, more than twice their total in the third quarter.
Jordan Poole finished with 15 points off the bench, Richaun Holmes provided 14 points and 11 rebounds, reserve Corey Kispert produced 13 points and Bilal Coulibaly had 11 points. Avdija added 14 rebounds.
Washington hadn’t won since Jan. 29 at San Antonio. Its previous home victory came Dec. 29 against Brooklyn.
Miles Bridges did his part with 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost six in a row. They shot 40 percent from the floor, making 9 of 42 shots from 3-point range. Bridges was 1-for-10 on 3s and 12-for-17 from inside the arc.
Brandon Miller had 21 points, Vasilije Micic added 14 points, Davis Bertans had 11 points and Nick Richards finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Avdija had nine points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the final quarter when the Wizards suddenly took charge. Washington also blocked 11 shots in the game.
The Wizards, who were 20-for-23 on free throws, went up for good on Poole’s jumper with 7:07 left in the fourth. They had a 98-88 lead on Poole’s 3-pointer with 3:14 left, completing a 13-4 run.
Poole was just 2-for-10 from long range as Washington shot 6-for-33 on 3-pointers. Kuzma missed all seven of his 3-point attempts.
Charlotte was up 78-68 early in the fourth quarter after outscoring the Wizards by 11 points in the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
