Charlotte Hornets (23-22) vs Washington Wizards (16-28)
When: 3/30/2021 7:00 PM
Where: Capital One Area

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, FOX Sports GO App and WFNZ 610 AM or 102.5 FM
LINE: -140
PREDICTION: Hornets, Wizards

Oddsmakers currently have Hornets listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the Wizards while the game’s total is sitting at 231.5.

The Charlotte Hornets are identifying different answers to compensate for the loss of their rookie standout.

The Washington Wizards keep going to Russell Westbrook when they need something big to happen, particularly without their top scorer.

The Hornets and Wizards match up Tuesday night in Washington.

Westbrook is coming off a historic triple-double on Monday night – 35 points, 21 assists, and 14 rebounds — as the Wizards knocked off the Indiana Pacers 132-124 for their second win in a row. It was the first triple-double in league history to include at least 35 points and 20 assists.

“Consistency definitely has been big for us. That’s accountability,” Wizards forward Robin Lopez said.

The Hornets, meanwhile, had a three-game winning streak snapped with Sunday’s 101-97 overtime loss to visiting Phoenix.

Without guard LaMelo Ball, the Hornets are turning to various potential options. Their style looks a bit different.

“We knew the pace would slow down,” guard Devonte’ Graham said.

For Washington, Jerome Robinson started in place of guard Bradley Beal, who was out with a hip injury. Beal averages a league-best 31.3 points per game.

The Wizards have received a boost with the addition of Daniel Gafford to the roster. His defense provides Washington with a rim protector.

“It might change the rhythm of this team right now,” Washington’s Rui Hachimura said, referring to Chandler Hutchison as well as Gafford. “It’s going to be fun to play with them.”

Hutchison made his Wizards debut Monday night, providing 18 points off the bench.

The Hornets held Phoenix to 14 points in the fourth quarter in making a comeback that erased a 16-point hole.

“I think our defense is getting better,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “I like where our defense is. It has got to carry us every night.”

Roster adjustments continue to be an issue for the Hornets. Guard Malik Monk sat out Sunday’s game with a foot injury two nights after a 32-point outing against the Miami Heat.

Graham hit seven 3-point shots on his way to a season-high 30 points to help pick up the slack. However, PJ. Washington didn’t score while logging more than 44 minutes. There was also the Hornets’ debut for guard Brad Wanamaker, who didn’t attempt a shot during a brief stint.

“We’re saying we’ve been here before. Keep fighting, keep getting stops,” Graham said. “Offensively, just believing in our shot and taking it with confidence.”

A key factor for the Hornets tends to be forward Miles Bridges, who provided 18 points and 12 rebounds in the matchup with Phoenix. His intangibles tend to be a boost for Charlotte.

“He brings us an edge, a spirit more than anything,” Borrego said.

The Wizards, who have won only four of their past 14 games, are going for a sweep of a three-game homestand after topping Detroit and Indiana. They’ve won consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 25 and 27.

Washington’s last three-game win streak ended Feb. 22, when a string of five straight games was halted.

Charlotte heads on a six-game road trip as it tries to maintain the top spot in the Southeast Division.

“Right back on the road again,” Graham said. “We’ve been in these close games, beat some good teams.”

The Hornets won 119-97 on Feb. 7 at home in the only previous meeting with Washington this season.

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Washington Wizards vs New York Knicks
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Knicks 108, Wizards 105

Oddsmakers currently have the Wizards listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the Knicks, while the game’s total is sitting at 219.5.

NEW YORK — Now that the distraction surrounding Carmelo Anthony is over, at least for the near future, the New York Knicks can focus on making a run in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Fresh off their 117-106 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, the Knicks (19-24) are right back at it on Thursday when they host the Washington Wizards.

Derrick Rose matched his season high with 30 points against the Celtics, leading a New York team that was without Kristaps Porzingis, Joakim Noah and Lance Thomas.

Porzingis missed his fourth consecutive game due to a sore left Achilles tendon. Noah didn’t suit up because of a sore ankle, and he will undergo an MRI exam Thursday. Thomas needs to be fitted for a facemask following an orbital fracture injury. All three players will be out against the Wizards.

“These guys are a determined bunch,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said of his roster. “We’ve had some bad breaks. We’ve had some bad games, but they stayed in there together.”

Washington (22-19) defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 104-101 on Wednesday for its 13th consecutive home victory. The Wizards defeated New York in a previous meeting, but Washington is 1-7 this season in the second game of back-to-back sets.

Anthony had a sit-down meeting with Knicks president Phil Jackson before Wednesday’s game to discuss the nine-time All-Star’s future in New York.

“The conversation wasn’t that long,” Anthony said at the Knicks’ morning shootaround in Boston. “We didn’t break bread. We didn’t have an hour’s conversation. It was a short conversation.”

Anthony, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, reiterated that he plans to remain in New York.

“I think, as players, you always want to protect yourself,” Anthony said of the no-trade clause. “I didn’t think it would get to this point. I think, as a player, if you can get (a no-trade clause), you have a right to protect yourself and take care of yourself when it comes to that. It’s very hard to get, very difficult to get. I have it, and that’s that.

“I’m committed (to staying). I don’t have to prove that to anybody. My focus is playing ball at this point.”

Anthony, 32, is averaging 22.2 points and 6.0 rebounds through 43 games this season. Both figures are below his career averages of 24.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

The Wizards are buoyed by a healthy John Wall, who needed surgery to his knees after last season. Wall is averaging career highs in points (22.9 per game), shooting percentage (46.4 percent), foul-shooting percentage (82.1 percent), steals (2.2 per game) and assists (10.1 per game) — with the latter figure ranking third in the NBA.

“I wanted to get back to being healthy,” Wall told USA Today Sports. “In my first six years, I was never healthy. I battled through so much just to prove I could play. For me to have a decent six years was great. But now I’m back to where I can be myself and be the player I always wanted to be.”

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Washington Wizards vs Boston Celtics
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), CSN New England (Boston)
PREDICTION: Celtics 113, Wizards 108

BOSTON — It was just last week that Isaiah Thomas made it clear he should have been selected as the Eastern Conference player of the month for December.

Washington’s John Wall, whose numbers – even a 52-point game – matched Boston’s Little Big Man, was given the honor.

On Wednesday night, the talented guards go head-to-head as both the Wizards and Celtics play the latter half of a back-to-back at TD Garden.

Tuesday night, Wall recorded the last two of his 26 points with 5.9 seconds left as the Wizards rallied from 18 points down against a short-handed Bulls team. Washington won its 10th straight home game and rose above the .500 mark (19-18) for the first time since it was 6-5 on Nov. 24, 2015.

“Just to be playing the way were playing and the December we had was big for us,” Wall said. “The way we started was terrible. If we didn’t have a good enough December, we probably wouldn’t be in this position to be a .500 team or better.

Up north, Thomas scored 27 points – his 22nd straight 20-point game – but the Celtics gave up 68 points in the second half, blew a 16-point third quarter lead and lost to the Toronto Raptors.

For the second straight night, the Celtics will have to deal with a talented opposing backcourt, but it looks like they’ll be able to do it with Avery Bradley back in the lineup after he missed two games with a slight Achilles strain.

Nov. 9 at Washington, the Wizards spurted to a 26-point first quarter lead and Otto Porter’s career night of 34 points and 14 rebounds led the Wizards to an easy win. The Celtics played without the injured Al Horford and Jae Crowder that night.

Boston’s four-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday night, as it missed a chance to inch past the Raptors into second place (via tiebreaker) in the East. The Celtics also saw their impressive streak of four games in a row with at least 17 3-pointers come to a halt by going just 9-for-27 from behind the arc – falling to 23-15.

“We didn’t make plays. We didn’t make shots at the offensive end,” Thomas said. “On top of that we didn’t get stops.”

In Washington, Wall also had 14 assists and six rebounds, while fellow guard Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris scored 19 points apiece.

“He is a winner,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of Wall. “That is the bottom line. We have a team full of winners and that really helps. We are not always perfect, but I like the guys’ mentality.”

“I thought he made the right play on shooting that (winner). If they were going to jump out at him, the pass was the right play. It’s not who makes the last shot, it’s who makes the right play.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 41 points and led the Toronto charge that caught and passed the Celtics.

“I probably saw more encouraging signs of progress than negative,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.

As far as coming home to play so quickly, Boston’s Al Horford said, “It’s hard, but this is how the NBA work. … We need to get back home, rest up and get ready.”

Said Thomas: “This week is big for us. We’ve got to go one game at a time and take care of home. We’ve got Washington (Wednesday) and then we’ll go into Atlanta (Friday, Horford’s first time back) and try to get one. ”

The Celtics are 5-3, winning five of their last six back ends of back-to-backs, while the Wizards are just 1-6.

Wall scored 19 points and was ejected from the first meeting between the teams when he was hit for a flagrant-2 for a hit on Marcus Smart.

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Washington Wizards
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, January 6, 2017
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Wizards 112, Timberwolves 105

WASHINGTON — The Washington Wizards ended 2016 rolling but started 2017 running uphill, which is the direction the young Minnesota Timberwolves traveled most of the season as the teams meet Friday.

The Wizards (16-18) won nine of 12 games to reach. 500, but lost their chance for a winning record with a 101-91 loss at the Houston Rockets Monday night. Falling to one of the top NBA teams on the road is one thing. Losing 113-105 to a 10-win Dallas Mavericks team as they did the following night is something else.

“Well, I thought we got outworked, and I haven’t said that a lot this year with our team,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said.

Dallas shot 17 of 32 from beyond the 3-point arc and outscored Washington 26-17 in the fourth quarter.

“They were moving the ball, and we were hoping that they would miss, and not doing a very good job of making them miss,” Brooks said.

Guards John Wall, who was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December, and Bradley Beal combined for 52 points. Washington returns home where its won eight in a row hoping the clumsy Texas two-step doesn’t derail any overall growth.

“No not at all, definitely a learning experience,” reserve forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “Gotta come back and play harder, smarter, and get back to what we were doing in 2016. It’s just two games, we’ll get back on track. We have a two game home stand, all the momentum will come back once we get home.”

The Timberwolves (11-24) aim for a win away from home after falling 93-91 at the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. The young squad’s latest setback came in the closing moments as Robert Covington’s jumper off an inbounds pass with 0.2 seconds remaining gave the 76ers the win.

“We wanted the ball to go away from the basket. That didn’t happen,” Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We needed some help on the curl, and we didn’t get it.”

Minnesota dropped five of its last seven games.

Zach LaVine scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 against Philadelphia, but they didn’t get much help from leading scorer Andrew Wiggins. The small forward had eight points — 13 below his average — on 2 of 15 shooting.

Both teams have electric perimeter players, but also threats inside. Wizards center Marcin Gortat (12.0) and Towns (11.6) rank among the top 10 in rebounding.

Minnesota’s starters play more minutes than any team in the league followed by Washington.

Both teams won on the road in this series last season with Minnesota claiming a 132-129 victory in double-overtime on March 25 as Towns scored 27 points.

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Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 12, 2016
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), FSN Sun (Miami)
PREDICTION: Wizards 116, Heat 103

Oddsmakers currently have the Wizards listed as 1½-point favorites versus the Heat, while the game’s total is sitting at 207.

MIAMI — The Washington Wizards are just 2-7 on the road. The Miami Heat are 2-8 at home.

Anyone have a coin to flip?

Yes, the Monday night game at AmericanAirlines Arena figures to be anybody’s contest. However, between the two teams currently out of the Eastern Conference playoff race, it is easy to view the Heat as the struggling squad and the Wizards as the club trending upward.

The Heat (7-17) are riding a five-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, the Wizards (9-13) won their past two games and are 6-4 over their past 10.

Washington, coming off a 110-105 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, is benefitting from outstanding production by point guard John Wall, who has 12 double-doubles this season. He produced 24 points and 11 assists against the Bucks.

Then again, Wall — the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft — is a three-time All-Star in his prime at age 26. His production is expected.

What is truly propelling the Wizards in their mini-streak is a “small-ball” lineup that is closing out games of late.

Washington coach Scott Brooks has been sitting 6-foot-10, 245-pound power forward Markieff Morris and replacing him with 6-7, 205-pound small forward Kelly Oubre, and the plan is working.

Oubre is seeing late-game minutes with the rest of the starters: Wall; 6-5, 205-pound shooting guard Bradley Beal; 6-8, 200-pound forward Otto Porter; and 6-11, 240-pound center Marcin Gortat.

“It’s a versatile lineup,” Oubre told the Washington Post. “It’s a quick lineup. It’s a momentum-changer. I like that lineup a lot.”

Brooks obviously likes it, too, as that five-man grouping had the second-best defensive rating in the league over the past 10 games (minimum 20 minutes together).

It is a small sample size, given how little those guys were out there together. Still, it is something the Wizards can build on.

“It’s something I’ve been considering,” Brooks told the Post. “I’m trying to manipulate the game so we can get to that lineup.”

Part of what makes the lineup defensively is that Porter and Oubre have long arms, and that helps them get their hands in the passing lanes. Oubre’s wingspan is 7-2. Porter’s wingspan is 7-1.

The lineup is not strong on the backboards, an area Miami may be able to exploit with center Hassan Whiteside. But the Wizards — especially with Oubre, Porter, Beal and Wall — are able to switch easily, defusing a pick-and-roll-based offense.

“Oubre has made great strides in being able to defend multiple lineups,” Brooks said. “We have to find a lineup that can defend and provide offense.”

In other story lines:

–Udonis Haslem, a seldom-used Heat forward, is back with the team after missing Miami’s 105-100 loss at Chicago on Saturday with an excused absence.

Haslem, who has played his entire 13th-year NBA career with the Heat, was allowed to travel to Orlando, Fla., so he could see his son play in a state football final. Kedonis Haslem is a 6-3, 290-pound lineman who helped lead Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas to the Class 7A championship.

Kedonis Haslem, a three-star recruit, has offers from Michigan and South Carolina among Power Five schools.

The idea to let Udonis Haslem see his son play came with the Heat’s blessing.

“He’s missed all of his son’s (prior) playoff games, senior year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Haslem. “UD (Haslem) has been with us for 13 years. You miss so many so many moments. We felt like this would be a moment that he wasn’t going to miss and regret years from now.”

–Whiteside is expected to play despite some nagging knee and hip injuries.

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Denver Nuggets vs. Washington Wizards
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Wizards 105, Nuggets 100

Oddsmakers currently have the Wizards listed as 6-point favorites versus the Nuggets, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

WASHINGTON — Neither the Denver Nuggets nor Washington Wizards will enter Thursday’s first head-to-head matchup feeling upbeat.

The Nuggets (8-14) lost 116-111 Wednesday night on the road to a five-win Brooklyn Nets. At least Denver can take pride in rallying from a 29-point deficit as they outscored Brooklyn 48-24 over the final 17:56. Despite that late effort and closing within 111-109 with 16.9 seconds, the Nuggets lost for the fourth time in five games.

“I told our team at halftime that Brooklyn was on pace for 84 points in the paint, which just shows signs of no resistance, no fight,” Denver coach Mike Malone said. “But I tell you, I am proud of our guys, getting down by 29 points and cutting it to three or four, whatever it was late. We got a couple of good shots that just didn’t go down for us but we didn’t roll over. Twenty-nine points didn’t become 50 and I’m happy about that.”

There was anything but happiness for the Wizards (7-13) following Tuesday’s 124-116 loss to the Orlando Magic. John Wall scored a career-high 52 points, but had little help most of the game. The real issues for Washington, which has lost three of four, came defensively. The Magic set a season high for points in the win.

“Not even just defensive effort, just playing hard,” Wall said. “Our job is to wake up and just play hard. Before you made it to the NBA or got a college scholarship, you played hard to get where you wanted to get to. To still be talking about playing hard. … That’s the easiest thing. Shouldn’t have to do with any contracts or any money. Just come in and play basketball.”

Asked why that isn’t happening, Wall said, “I don’t know. If I had the answers we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”

Orlando shot 51.8 percent overall from the field, 12 of 26 from beyond the arc and led by as many as 20 points.

“We have to be able to sustain a sense of urgency possession by possession,” Brooks continued. “It was spotty at best. Until we do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a bad position.”

Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 27 points against the Nets. He also led the comeback, which began soon after Malone was ejected for arguing a foul with an official as Denver trailed by 21 points midway through the third quarter.

“When he got ejected, that was the plan, to try to get something going,” Chandler said. “We were down. There was nothing happening and I think that kind of lit a fire under us.”

Led by Chandler, the Nuggets’ bench scored 70 points against the Nets, which is three less than the 73 the Magic’s second unit scored against Wizards.

Denver averaged 116.5 points during a two-game sweep over Washington last season.

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Washington Wizards vs Brooklyn Nets
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 5, 2016
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic Plus (Washington), YES (Brooklyn)
PREDICTION: Wizards 116, Nets 110

Washington is 1 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference, with only the Philadelphia 76ers keeping the Nets out of the basement, but is starting to show signs of life on its road trip. The Wizards took Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder to overtime before falling 126-115 on Wednesday and fell 107-105 on Kawhi Leonard’s game-winner in San Antonio two days later. Brooklyn dropped both ends of a home-and-home with the Milwaukee Bucks in the last two games and lost nine of its last 10 contests. The Nets are last in the NBA in scoring defense, allowing an average of 114.2 points, and surrendered at least 111 in each of the last 10 contests.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (6-12): Washington gave 23-year-old shooting guard Bradley Beal a five-year, $128 million max extension in the offseason and watched its investment thrive of late. Beal is averaging 27.3 points in eight games since returning from a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury and buried all five of his 3-point attempts in Friday’s loss to the Spurs. Point guard John Wall is finding Beal in the right spots and handed out 15 assists in each of the last two games.

ABOUT THE NETS (5-14): Veteran center Brook Lopez is taking the losing hard and put all the blame on himself after a 3-of-17 shooting effort at Milwaukee on Saturday. “I know I definitely wasn’t happy with the way I played,” Lopez told reporters. “I’m very disappointed in myself. I think I definitely affected the outcome. I let us down tonight, no question.” Lopez is 12-of-44 from the field in Brooklyn’s last three losses but knocked down at least three 3-pointers in each of the last four games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Brooklyn reportedly signed restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas to a four-year, $37 million offer sheet on Friday, giving the Houston Rockets three days to match the offer.

2. Wizards C Ian Mahinmi (knee) missed the last three games and is questionable for Monday.

3. Washington swept the three-game series last season by an average of 14 points.

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TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Wizards 111, Kings 104

WASHINGTON — DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall were teammates for one dynamic college season at the University of Kentucky. The Sacramento Kings center and the Washington Wizards point guard are individually playing at a high level, though their respective teams aren’t finding similar success this season.

Both teams enter Monday night’s matchup with losing records, though the Kings (7-10) have won three of four. Cousins had 37 points and 11 rebounds in Sacramento’s 122-105 romp over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday night. The Kings sank 13 of 23 3-pointers and outscored the Nets 34-18 in the third quarter.

“Good game for us as far as coming out in the second half,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “We got three stops in a row 11 times tonight, which is good. … I don’t know how often we’ll go 13-of-23 from 3-point line.”

Expecting offensive production from Cousins is common. The big man with range made 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and finished 13 of 24 from the field.

“He’s a difficult cover because he can play facing you, with his back to the basket, he can shoot a little bit, he can drive a little bit,” Joerger said of Cousins, who leads the Kings with 27.8 points per game. “He creates a lot of contact and gets to the free-throw line. You look at that and you say how do you take him for granted.”

Cousins knows better than to take for granted what his former college teammate provides the Wizards. Wall leads Washington with 23.5 points and ranks fifth in the NBA with 8.7 assists.

“Tough matchup with John Wall, he is a big athletic guard,” Cousins said. “We have to keep the crowd around him, be there to help guards to help the guard. He really looks to get into the paint and get everybody involved. It is going to be a tough task (Monday) and if we play the way we did tonight minus some of the mistakes we will be fine.”

The Wizards (5-10) saw their modest two-game winning streak, a season high, end Saturday as the San Antonio Spurs handled Washington 112-100. The Spurs were relentless getting to the free throw and attacking a Wizards defense that struggles defending the perimeter.

“They were a more aggressive team,” said Wall, who had 21 points in the home loss. “They got a lot of easy shots and I think we missed some easy shots.”

Bradley Beal paced the Wizards with 25 points on a night center Ian Mahinmi made his season and Wizards debut after missing the opening 14 games following knee surgery. Rust was evident, but the hope is Mahinmi, who signed a four-year, $64 million contract over the summer, can help Washington defensively against the likes of Cousins.

“He knows how to play,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of Mahinmi. “It’s going to take him some time. I’m very patient and he understands that we all are. But I like what he brings to our team. He’s a tough player and he just brings a good fiber to our team. I thought tonight’s game, at times he looked good (and) at times he looked rusty. That’s expected. He’s missed the last six weeks of the season.”

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Washington Wizards vs. Philadelphia 76ers
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), CSN Philadelphia
PREDICTION: 76ers 106, Wizards 103

Oddsmakers currently have the Wizards listed as 7-point favorites versus the 76ers, while the game’s total is sitting at 203.

Veteran point guard John Wall appears to be getting healthier. The struggling Washington Wizards can only hope to say the same.

Wall, who leads the team in scoring (22.3) and assists (8.3), underwent surgery on both knees in May and has not played games on consecutive days in the early stages of this season. CSN Washington reported Tuesday, however, that Wall is approaching the point where such restrictions might be lifted.

Washington, which is 2-7 and in last place in the NBA’s Southeast Division, plays the first half of a back-to-back Wednesday night on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers (1-9). The Wizards host the New York Knicks on Thursday.

Bradley Beal, the Wizards’ other starting guard, has missed the last two games with tightness in his right hamstring. He practiced Monday, however, and told the Washington Post he hopes to play versus Philadelphia.

Washington Stats:
Team record: 2-7 SU,3-6 ATS
Washington is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Washington is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Washington’s last 15 games

“It’s not great,” said Beal, the Wizards’ second-leading scorer (15.4). “It’s not 1,000 percent, but it’s pretty close.”

Without Wall and Beal, the Wizards dropped a 106-95 decision to Chicago on Saturday night. After the game, starting center Marcin Gortat told reporters that Washington has “one of the worst benches in the league right now.”

The Washington Post reported that Gortat apologized to his teammates Monday, and that coach Scott Brooks was quick to extinguish the brushfire.

“I look at things from a whole,” Brooks told the newspaper. “When I played, I was a backup, and I didn’t like to be divided. We don’t have two teams here, we have one basketball team, and right now we’re not happy and content on being 2-7.”

Brooks, in his first year with the Wizards after seven as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s head coach, spent 10 seasons in the NBA as a reserve point guard, the first two of those with Philadelphia.

The Sixers beat Indiana in overtime last Friday for their lone victory of the season, snapping a 44-game losing streak in October/November games. They fell 117-96 the next night in Atlanta, and were beaten 115-88 Monday night in Houston, running their road losing streak to 20 contests. That equals the second-longest skid in franchise history.

“Tonight, we just didn’t really fight,” veteran guard Gerald Henderson told the Philadelphia Inquirer after the loss to the Rockets. “As a defense, you need to be locked in … on their individual players, their tendencies, and all that stuff.

“We got physically (and) just effort-wise, dominated.”

Rookie center Joel Embiid continues to excel, averaging team highs of 18 points and 7.3 rebounds despite being limited to 24 minutes a game as a precaution. Embiid, the third overall pick in the 2014 draft, missed two seasons while recovering from a pair of foot surgeries.

Philadelphia will be without forward Ben Simmons, the top overall pick in the 2016 draft, until at least January following foot surgery. Center/forward Nerlens Noel (knee surgery) and guard Jerryd Bayless (wrist) have also yet to play this season, though the latter was assigned on Monday to the Sixers’ NBA Development League team, the Delaware 87ers. He hopes to return by the end of the month.

Philadelphia Stats:
Team record: 1-9 SU,5-5 ATS
Philadelphia is 1-13 SU in its last 14 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games
Philadelphia is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home

The Wizards have been without backup center Ian Mahinmi (torn medial meniscus, left knee) through their first nine games.

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Las Vegas police said Friday that the Washington Wizards’ All-Star point guard was with a group of people on an American Airlines flight around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Police say one of the people with Wall got into a verbal fight with another passenger who was unrelated to the group.

Authorities say that’s when the airline requested Wall and his group be removed from the plane. Police say there were no charges or arrests.

An American Airlines spokeswoman referred questions to police and said the airline had no information about a disturbance on a Tuesday flight from Las Vegas.

Messages left with a Wizards spokesman were not returned.

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