CJ McCollum scored the game’s final four points, including a jumper with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Washington Wizards rallied to produce a 114-113 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.
Washington led 107-97 with 7:54 to go in the fourth quarter but missed 10 consecutive field-goal attempts to allow Milwaukee to go on a 16-3 run.
The spurt, capped when Giannis Antetokounmpo sank a pair of free throws to close his 33-point night, pushed the Bucks ahead 113-110 with 33 seconds to go.
The veteran guard McCollum attacked quickly on the ensuing Washington possession, ending the Wizards’ field-goal drought off of an assist from former Buck Khris Middleton and ensuring the visitors enough time for another possession.
Alex Sarr’s block of Antetokounmpo on a putback attempt gave Washington the stop it needed, and McCollum capitalized with a frenetic push down the court and pull-up shot just before the buzzer to give the Wizards the lead.
Antetokounmpo’s 14-footer with 0.4 seconds remaining was off the mark, giving the lowly Wizards their third win in the past four outings.
McCollum’s late-game heroics helped him finish with 18 points. He was one of six Wizards to score in double figures, along with Sarr and Bub Carrington, who each netted a team-high 20. Sarr added a team-high 11 rebounds and also blocked four shots.
Carrington’s scoring in reserve duty led Washington to 52 bench points, including 12 from Justin Champagnie. Wizards’ starters Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly put up 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Antetokounmpo earned game-high honors in scoring while logging his most minutes in a month. The two-time Most Valuable Player returned from a three-week absence caused by a calf strain last weekend and was limited to 24 minutes in the previous two outings.
He played 28:25 on Wednesday, during which he shot 12 of 21 from the floor, 9 of 14 at the free-throw line, and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Kevin Porter Jr. added 19 points for Milwaukee in the loss, and Ryan Rollins scored 16 points. The Bucks’ reserves were notably outscored by Washington’s, with the bulk of Milwaukee’s contributions coming from Bobby Portis’ 13 points.
Former Wizard Kyle Kuzma managed just five points, Gary Harris added another five points, and Gary Trent Jr. went scoreless to give Milwaukee’s reserves 23 combined points.
Washington converted 19 of 39 shots (48.7%) from 3-point range, including all six in the second quarter.
–Field Level Media
