Warriors defeat Wizards, improve play-in positioning
Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points and Brandin Podziemski recorded a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Golden State Warriors to their third straight win, a 131-126 defeat of the Washington Wizards on Friday in San Francisco.
Golden State (36-38), looking to improve its positioning for the Western Conference play-in round, went on a late 19-5 run to erase a five-point deficit.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Gui Santos and Podziemski capped the decisive spurt and were part of a 19-for-44 night shooting from beyond the arc for the Warriors.
Santos, coming off a career-high 31 points on Wednesday vs. Brooklyn, hit 3 of 5 from long distance on his way to 27 points. Porzingis shot 5 of 11 from deep to lead Golden State's 3-point barrage.
LJ Cryer came off the bench to add another 4 of 10 from outside, scoring all 12 of his points on 3-point attempts.
Washington (17-56) leaned on a balanced scoring effort, getting 66 points from its bench. Will Riley, who went 3 of 5 from long distance, finished with a team-high 22 points.
Riley was one of three Wizards reserves to score in double figures along with Anthony Gill and Jaden Hardy, who each posted 14 points.
Bilal Coulibaly scored 21 to lead Washington's starters, but was limited to 19 minutes. He was listed as questionable coming into the game due to a heel injury.
Bub Carrington added 16 points for Washington, knocking down 4 of 5 3-pointers. Carrington was one of four Wizards to hit at least 3-point attempts along with Coulibaly and Hardy, as Washington approached Golden State's pace at 18 of 42.
The Wizards could only get to the free throw line for 10 attempts, however, making eight. The bigger Golden State lineup was able to more successfully attack the rim, resulting in 21 more free throw attempts.
The Warriors made 24 of the 31 foul shots including 8 of 9 by Santos.