Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points in his return as the Washington Wizards extended the visiting Charlotte Hornets’ losing streak to 12 with a 123-114 win Thursday night.
Brogdon, who came off the bench and played 27 minutes, had missed the last four games with a strained hamstring. Teammate Bilal Coulibaly had 14 points, including an incredible fourth-quarter dunk.
It was just the Wizards’ second win in their last 21 games, and it featured a big performance from their young stars, including No. 1 overall pick Alex Sarr, who drained a pair of clutch threes in the final 3 1/2 minutes and finished with 19 points.
Jordan Poole led Washington with 27. LaMelo Ball finished with 34 points to lead the Hornets, but shot only 11-for-32 from the floor.
Neither team was able to carve much of an advantage in the first half, which ended with the Wizards leading 60-58.
The Hornets made a big move in the final minutes of the third quarter with a pair of dunks by Nick Richards and a three by Tidjane Salaun to take their biggest lead at 86-79.
The Wizards responded by scoring the final eight points of the quarter, all by Corey Kispert (13 points), to regain the lead.
Washington never trailed in the fourth, getting back-to-back threes by Poole to go up 101-94 with 5:59 left. With the hosts up by seven a minute later, Poole fed a high pass to Coulibaly, who with his 7-foot-3 wingspan was able to control and slam down with his right hand in an impressive athletic display.
Charlotte drew within seven in the final minute, but Poole sealed it with a pair of free throws.
Poole sank a 3-pointer for the Wizards’ first basket and tied a franchise record with Gilbert Arenas with his 53rd straight game with a made three.
The crowd included NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who had attended a press conference earlier in the day announcing a major renovation plan for Capital One Arena to be completed over the next three summers.