Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson (5) dunks the ball as the Sacramento Kings guard Molik Monk (right) looks on in the first half at the Capital Center in Washington DC on Wed Apr 2, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (36-40) continue to struggle on the road losing to the Washington Wizards (17-59) 116-111 at the Capital Center in DC. This one was a shocker since the Wizards are the second worst team in the NBA. This loss could not have come at a worst time with the Kings fighting for a play-in spot.

This game really had one scratching their heads. Lately the Kings have struggled with inconsistency and injury but despite all that this was a real stunner. Perhaps Sacramento took the Wizards a bit too lightly and Washington had a great night finishing with 17 shots from beyond the arc. This is only the Wizards eighth home win of the season.

Game recap: The first quarter was about as close as a quarter could get with the Wizards leading throughout the quarter by a point or two. The games was tied five times in the final three minutes of the first 12 minutes of play in a real shocker, in fact, as the quarter came to an end, the game was tied at 26.

The second quarter saw Washington take a three-point lead 35-32 prompting head coach Doug Christie to take a time-out to re-group. When play got back underway, the Wizards continued to extend their lead taking a 38-32 lead.

At the half, the Wizards had a 55-52 lead. Washington had absolutely nothing to play for while the Kings had everything at stake and playing spoiler was exactly what Washington had in mind.

The Kings had to wake up in the second half or not only continue their road losing streak but just about kiss any hope of a play-in spot goodbye. With the tough schedule that lies ahead of them tonight’s game is a must-win.

The third quarter was even more disappointing than the first two with the Wizards outscoring the Kings 36-21 and leading 91-77. The Wizards were outscoring the Kings from the field 54 to 42 %.

It got even more lop-sided from beyond the arc with Washington outshooting the Kings 41 to 25 % through three quarters. The 14-point Wizard’s lead was their largest of the game. The Kings largest lead through three quarters had been five points and the third quarter had been all Washington. The Wizards were on a roll and it was going to be hard to stop them as their momentum continued to build.

The game would go into the fourth quarter and it was crunch time for the Sacramento Kings. At 7:39 the Kings took a time-out as the reality of a possible loss loomed. They trailed 99-88 and trading shots was not going to result in a win.

They needed stops and some big-time shooting and so far in this game it just was not happening. The Kings pulled to within six points at the seven minute mark 93-99 only to watch the Wizards push their lead back out.

With under five minutes left in the game, the Wizards had a ten-point lead and continued to bleed the clock and finish off possessions with baskets. Every time the Kings got close, the Wizards answered.

With 1:11 left in the game, the Wizards were hanging onto a three-point lead 111-108. This game got even closer with 55.6 on the clock and Washington leading 111-109. The Wizards took a timeout and it worked out beautifully for them but not so much for Sacramento losing to Washington 116-109 in an absolute shocker.

The hight for the Wizards was former Warrior Jordan Poole with 23 points and Bub Carrington had a great game going 5 of 11 from beyond the arc and scoring 19 points. AJ Johnson also scored 19 in the winning effort.

The high for the Kings was DeMar DeRozan with 29 points and Domantas Sabonis turned in another double double with 16 rebounds and 18 points. Zach LaVine had 19 points in the loss. Keegan Murray was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc finishing with 19 points.

Game notes: Wednesday evening the Kings traveled to Washington taking on the Wizards looking for the seemingly non-existent road win. While this is a game that Sacramento will not take for granted there is absolutely no reason for a King’s loss.

They have the offensive weapons needed to put this game away but they have really had some rough games lately falling apart in the final minutes of games, having some poor starts, giving up significant leads, too many turnovers and the list goes on and on. This team should not be fighting right now for a play-in spot. There has been too much inconsistency in these final games as the team struggles to find the answers.

This was only the Wizards eighth home victory of the season and it could not have come at a worst time for the Sacramento Kings. Friday night the Kings will continue on the road taking on the Charlotte Hornets another bottom dwelling team with a record of 19-56.

After what went down Wednesday night all bets are off as to who might win this game. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:00 PM with the Kings looking at three more road games which includes the Charlotte game before returning to Golden 1 to finish out their final three games of the season.