ONE | system
Danny Avdia Kole (Reuters)
Danny Abedia’s upward trend in the NBA continued tonight (between Wednesday and Thursday) when he recorded a fourth game in a row in double figures, but unfortunately this time it ended in a loss, when Washington stopped after four consecutive victories and suffered a painful 121:120 from Oklahoma City, which dropped it to 7: 8 seasonal. An evening dedicated to commemorating ‘Jewish heritage’ that started off great for the Wizards ended with a dramatic basket victory by the opponent.
Avdia started the fifth game in a row and provided a great game when he scored 12 points, pulled down 7 rebounds, gave 2 assists and also added 2 blocks in 30 minutes in which he participated. Beyond that, he continued to demonstrate a high level of ability in defense and for many minutes gave good defense against Shea Gilges-Alexander and Josh Giddy, but even that was not enough and the former ended a phenomenal evening when he equaled a career high with 42 points and finished with a tremendous three-pointer with two seconds to go.
The first half was outstanding for Washington and it already led during it by 17 points. Avdia was a partner in the three-point range, with two consecutive three-pointers in the first quarter, his team went into the break with a 54:67 advantage after scoring 14 three-pointers from 20 attempts (70%). In the second quarter, the Israeli forward added a nice basket in the paint and ended the first half with 8 personal points and also some great actions in defense.
The third quarter was written in the name of Gilges-Alexander who made sure to keep the Thunder in business and a basket at the buzzer gave the guest 87:89 heading into the decisive quarter. In the deciding minutes, Avdia suffered harsh whistles from the referees and got into fouls, but that didn’t stop him from scoring a huge basket at a critical moment. 6 seconds to the end Bradley Beal gave Washington a 2-point lead, but Gilges-Alexander answered with a three-pointer and stunned the capital with a great 120:121.
Kristaps Porzingis led the scorers for the loser with 27 points, but his name will have the records of free throws that turned out to be critical in retrospect. Bill, who returned after five games away, added 25, with 15 of them coming in the last quarter and Kyle Kuzma, despite a bad night, was far from an assist from a triple double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 9 aces. Roy Hachimura came off the bench with 14 points, Monte Morris added 11. Washington’s home game streak will continue on Saturday against Miami.
On the winning side, Gilges-Aleksander was above everyone else with 42 points and led a list of only four players in double figures, so in fact it was a one player game. Lou Dort was good with 16 points and important baskets, Josh Giddy added 11 and Jaylen Williams came off the bench with 10 points. The Thunder recorded their third win in the last four games and will continue their road trip on Saturday against Memphis.
