Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points, Jordan Poole added a season-high 30 and Tyus Jones recorded a triple-double as the Washington Wizards snapped a six-game skid Friday with a 137-123 defeat of the visiting Indiana Pacers.
A 15-0 Wizards run in the second quarter flipped an eight-point Indiana advantage into a lead Washington never relinquished and grew to as many as 22 points in the second half.
The Wizards held the Pacers, the NBA’s top scoring team coming into Friday at 128.4 points per game, to just 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) shooting in the pivotal second quarter. Washington shot 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) in the period, and 52-of-92 (56.5 percent) on the night compared to Indiana’s 48-of-107 (44.9 percent).
All five Washington starters each dished at least four assists, with Jones’ 11 leading the way. The 11 assists combined with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Jones’ second career triple-double, and he matched NBA assists leader — the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton — for the game high.
Haliburton scored 19 points to go with his 11 assists.
Poole dished eight assists, while Kuzma, Daniel Gafford and Deni Avdija distributed four apiece. Gafford also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Washington got significant bench help from Corey Kispert, who finished with 23 points, and Bilal Coulibaly, whose 17 surpassed the career-high of 16 he scored in the Wizards’ loss to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
Three Indiana reserves scored in double-figures, led by Isaiah Jackson’s team-high 20. Jackson shot 10-of-13 from the floor and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Bennedict Mathurin added 13 points off the bench, and Aaron Nesmith chipped in 12. Obi Toppin shot 6-of-8 from the floor for 16 points, and Buddy Hield added 11 points but shot just 3-of-11 from 3-point range.
Indiana went 15-of-40 from beyond the arc, while Washington shot 13-of-27 from deep. Kuzma’s 4-of-9 3-point shooting set the pace for the Wizards in their first win since Nov. 27.
–Field Level Media