Poole’s 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left lifts Wizards to a 113-110 win over Hornets

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jordan Poole’s 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining lifted the Washington Wizards to a 113-110 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night.

In a matchup of two of the league’s worst teams, the Wizards (5-23) beat Charlotte (7-23) for the second straight week. Washington blew a 21-point second-quarter lead but ultimately prevailed in a back-and-forth final minute.

The Hornets led by one and had Josh Green at the line with 38.3 seconds left. Green missed both free throws, and a tip-in by Wizards rookie Alex Sarr put Washington up 109-108 with 14.8 seconds remaining.

Charlotte took the lead back when Mark Williams dunked home an alley-oop pass from LaMelo Ball with 12.3 seconds to play, but after a Washington timeout, Poole made a step-back 3 from near the top of the key.

Brandon Miller missed a 3 at the other end for Charlotte, and Ball’s desperate attempt at a putback was unsuccessful. Justin Champagnie made a free throw with 1.6 seconds left for the Wizards to complete the scoring.

The Hornets lost for the 14th time in 15 games.

Poole finished with 25 points and Bilal Coulibaly had 20 for the Wizards.

Ball scored 31 for the Hornets.

Takeaways

Hornets: Charlotte got Miller back from a sprained ankle and rallied gamely after falling behind 68-47, but the missed free throws by Green proved costly.

Wizards: Washington refused to wilt after allowing a 19-4 run at the start of the fourth that put Charlotte ahead 106-100.

Key moment

Poole’s final shot was his fifth 3-pointer of the night in 15 attempts. The Wizards were able to get him pretty well isolated against Green at the top, and he was able to create enough space to shoot.

Key stat

The Wizards scored 24 points off 20 Charlotte turnovers.

Up next

Wizards host the first of two straight games against New York on Saturday, and Hornets host Oklahoma City.

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