Kyle Kuzma broke out of a slump with a season-high 25 points and Jordan Poole added 26 on Monday to lead the visiting Washington Wizards to their first win of a season, a 121-119 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Kuzma’s previous best had been 14 points, but he came alive in the second half to finish 8-for-20 shooting with 11 rebounds and seven assists. He was taken to the locker room with less than two minutes left for undisclosed reasons and did not return.
Poole scored 19 of his points in the first half and finished the game 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Corey Kispert scored 21 off the bench for the Wizards.
Atlanta was led by Jalen Johnson, who scored a career-high 29 points and added 12 rebounds and seven assists. Trae Young chipped in 14 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds but missed the potential game-winning 3-pointer shot at the buzzer.
The teams play again on Wednesday in Washington.
The game was billed as a showcase for the top two draft picks, but neither rookie had a huge effect on the outcome.
Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher (No. 1 pick) finished with four points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 26 minutes. Washington’s Alex Sarr (No. 2) had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.
Atlanta sprung ahead 13-2) but Washington came back to tie the game at 25 late in the first quarter. Atlanta rebuilt a double-digit lead in the second quarter, going up by 13 when Young hit a pair of free throws for a 44-31 lead. Poole kept the Wizards close by scoring 13 in the second quarter, but Atlanta led 61-54 at halftime.
Washington outscored the Hawks 30-22 in the third quarter as Kuzma scored 12 points – including his first three 3-pointers of the season — and led 84-83 going into the final quarter.
The Hawks were short-handed again.
Forward De’Andre Hunter missed his second straight game with right knee inflammation and backup center Onyeka Okongwu was held out for load management.
The Hawks lost backup point guard Vit Krejci in the second quarter when he did not return after sustaining a right adductor injury.
