Wizards' Jordan Poole puts on one-man show, but he can't beat Heat alone

Washington Post

01-04-2025

Midway through the fourth quarter of Monday night's 120-94 loss to the Miami Heat, the Washington Wizards' box score read something like this:
Jordan Poole: A lot. Everybody else: Not much.
Poole, who broke the franchise's single-season record for threes in the first quarter, scored a game-high 35 points. The Wizards did not have another player in double-digits until there was just 2:19 left in the game.
Despite not playing in the fourth quarter, Poole led all scorers as the Wizards took their third straight loss. The Heat (34-41) had the game's next four top scorers, led by Bam Adebayo with 28 points and Tyler Herro with 27.
The defeat at Capital One Arena dropped the Wizards to 16-59, the second-worst record in the NBA. They remain a half-game better than the Utah Jazz, which is 16-60 after losing to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
Outside of Poole, the Wizards shot 24 for 69 from the field and 6 for 30 from three.
'To be honest, we missed some shots tonight. We were just out of rhythm, could never really get it going,' Coach Brian Keefe said. 'We missed some chippies, some easy ones around the rim. We missed some open threes. … Sometimes the game is going to go that way.'
Poole's third three of the game and 224th of the season broke Bradley Beal's record from 2016-17. He received the game ball.
'It was a goal at the beginning of the year,' he told reporters after the game. '... Really dope accomplishment. A lot of hard work went into it.'
The accomplishment continues a resurgent season for Poole, who is shooting a career-best 38.1 percent from three. During his time with the Golden State Warriors, the guard briefly seemed poised to join Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the 'Splash Brothers.'
Poole had a rocky first season with Washington in part because he shot just 32.6 percent from deep, the lowest mark since his rookie season.
He worked on his shooting off the dribble entering the season, recognizing that he had to create more shots by himself as the Wizards' No. 1 option.
'I feel like I'm years behind when it comes to just reps and time spent in the gym,' said Poole, who was praised by Keefe for his work ethic. 'I feel I'm playing catch up. … It doesn't help that I was with Steph and Klay … my first couple of years as well. So it's definitely a motivational tactic that I use that I always have: not being complacent and not being satisfied.'
Here's what else to know about the Wizards' loss:
Vukcevic shows improvement
Tristan Vukcevic was the only other Wizard to reach double digits. The second-year big man, whom Washington took in the second round in 2023, scored 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting. He added four rebounds.
But the 22-year-old remained displeased with his performance after the game.
'A lot of things,' he said when asked where he could improve. 'I think I wasn't focused from the jump. I missed a lot of shots that I should make and had some leakouts on the defensive end. And that's just a learning progress.'
But overall, Vukcevic remained proud of his improvement. His minutes per game have more than doubled since the all-star break. He has averaged 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three.
'I think I've been doing pretty good,' he said. 'Obviously there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm still young. I didn't play the first half of the season, so [I'm] just gaining my confidence back and trusting the work I put in.'
Dawkins honored
Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins was honored by the Greater Washington Urban League on Friday at its annual gala. Dawkins received the 'Beacon of Grace' award from the civil rights and urban advocacy organization, according to a press release from the Urban League.