Landry Shamet

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Luke Askew

For the second time in three days, the Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic duked it out at the Amway Center. Despite a competitive, back-and-forth game for four quarters -- one that never saw a lead reach double digits for either ball club -- the Magic executed better down the stretch, earning the win. Final score: Magic 130, Wizards 125.

BIG NIGHTS FOR KYLE KUZMA AND DANIEL GAFFORD

Kyle Kuzma was the primary weapon for the Wizards' offense once again. He's been consistently effective all season long, and Friday night was no different. After six straight games of facilitating -- averaging 8.2 assists per contest -- Kuzma put his scoring hat on. He set the tone right off the jump, pouring in 12 points in the first quarter and helping jumpstart the offensive flow.

His frontcourt partner Daniel Gafford was right there with him. Gafford was all over the glass, rolling hard to the rim, playing through contact, and finishing at the cup. While Kuzma led the way with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, Gafford's 18-point, 11-rebound double-double was equally as meaningful. Gafford also dished out three assists and blocked three shots.

Kuzma and Gafford set the pace for the starters, but the Wizards bench kept things going when those guys needed a break.

Bilal Coulibaly was extremely active in his 32 minutes of play, scoring 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Danilo Gallinari was solid, knocking down three of his four shots. And the wing duo of Landry Shamet and Corey Kispert was phenomenal. Those two guys combined for 28 points and spaced the floor beautifully, shooting 7-of-9 from deep.

Every time the Magic made a little run, it felt like Shamet or Kispert stepped up and hit a big three. They were pivotal in keeping this game competitive for all 48 minutes.

While the Wizards had some solid individual performances and did some stellar things on offense, Orlando's frontcourt ended up being the biggest difference maker. After a tough game on Wednesday night, Paolo Banchero came out with a vengeance, scoring 15 first-half points. He finished the game with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field to go along with 13 boards and seven assists.

Banchero's star frontcourt partner Franz Wagner had another massive outing alongside him, scoring a game-high 31 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe to go along with eight assists and seven boards of his own. For those who don't want to do the math, Banchero and Wagner combined for 59 points, 20 rebounds, and 15 assists -- elite production from the three main box score categories.

"They got positional size," said Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. after the game when asked about the matchup problems Banchero and Wagner pose. "Both able to play pick and roll, score on three levels, stretch you a little bit from three, play off the bounce, can post you... I think both guys play at their own pace so it's tough to speed them up. Very good in the pocket, slow-playing drives, and do a great job of finishing through contact. So it's quite the duo, and because of that size, it's a tough matchup."

As if those two guys weren't enough, the Magic got a big boost from Franz's brother, Moritz Wagner, who dropped 18 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

The Wizards now have a four-day break before taking the court on December 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

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Recap: Wizards lose 130-125 in second consecutive battle with Magic

After battling hard and playing all-around great basketball, the Washington Wizards fell to the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in five days. Final score: Bucks 131, Wizards 128.

The Wizards started this game with an aura of confidence that doesn't necessarily reflect their rough start in the win/loss column. They came out aggressive, defending Giannis Antetokounmpo with physicality, playing fast, and shooting the ball with swagger. Chief among those shooting with swagger: Corey Kispert.

When Kispert checked into the game, it was lights out immediately for the third-year swingman. He knocked down his first three triples, helping keep the Wizards' offense afloat. He missed his fourth attempt before knocking down two more consecutively. At the end of the first half, Kispert led the way for Washington with 15 points on five made threes.

The Wizards paired their swift 3-point shooting (9-of-20 in the first half) with feisty defense, including an uptick in double-teaming Antetokounmpo and fronting him in the post, en route to giving them a 61-60 lead after two quarters.

Brook Lopez played arguably the best game of his career on Friday night in Milwaukee. After a 12-point first half, Lopez went ballistic in the third quarter, dropping 15 points and scoring the ball in a multitude of ways. He was using his 7-foot-1, 280-pound frame to his advantage at all times, scoring down low and burying threes. You knew it was going to be one of those nights when Lopez opened the third quarter with a stepback, contested three over Daniel Gafford. He just simply had it going.

Lopez finished the game with a career-high-tying 39 points -- his best scoring night since 2011. He was the biggest difference-maker on Friday night.

While Lopez was the biggest difference-maker for the Bucks, Landry Shamet perhaps made the biggest impact on the Wizards. He had a solid first half, scoring five points and doing all of the little things correctly. But in the fourth quarter, Shamet exploded onto the scene.

With just over eight minutes remaining in the final frame, Shamet caught the ball at the top of the key off an out-of-bounds play. He took a second, assessed the defense, and then made his move. He went left and took the 6-foot-6 Andre Jackson Jr. off the dribble before -- seemingly out of nowhere -- taking lift-off. With Jackson Jr. on his hip and Antetokounmpo coming over to meet him at the rim, Shamet double-clutched the ball and threw down a malicious two-handed poster dunk over both Bucks. It was nasty. Take a look for yourself.

Shamet scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, bringing his game total up to 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 shooting from deep.

Despite playing a sensational game on Friday night, Shamet proved he's still human. With 16.3 seconds left, the Wizards were down three points and had the ball coming out of a timeout. Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. drew up a beautiful play, getting Shamet an open three in the corner, but with his momentum carrying him away from the basket, the three was just off.

After playing the fouling game, the Wizards had another chance to tie the game at the buzzer with a Kyle Kuzma 37-foot heave, but that caught the back rim. Ball game.

For the Wizards, four players scored 20+ points on Friday evening. Kispert had 20 off the bench on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Kuzma scored 22. Tyus Jones matched that with 22 points of his own on 9-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. And Jordan Poole led the way with 26 points in addition to his seven assists.

All in all, this was one of the Wizards' best games of the young season. On the front end of a back-to-back, they played one of the top dogs in the Eastern Conference at their arena and gave them everything they could handle.

The Wizards are back home in D.C. on Saturday night for the second leg of their back-to-back. This time, they'll host the Atlanta Hawks.

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Recap: Wizards come up short in Milwaukee, lose 131-128 thriller

The Washington Wizards (2-11) are hitting a brutal stretch with 10 of their next 13 games on the road. First up is a Wednesday night bout with the Hornets (4-9) in Charlotte.

WHERE: Spectrum Center (Charlotte, NC)WHEN: 7:00 p.m. ETTV: Monumental Sports Network 2RADIO: The Team 980 & The Wizards App

WIZARDS:Delon Wright (left knee sprain -- out)

HORNETS:James Bouknight (left knee; surgery -- out)Cody Martin (left knee; injury recovery -- out)Frank Ntilikina (left tibia; non-displaced fracture -- out)Nick Richards (concussion protocol -- out)Terry Rozier (left groin strain -- out)

The Wizards and Hornets have already met twice this season, splitting the series 1-1 with both teams getting their wins on the road. In the first game, the Wizards did a nice job overall of keeping Hornets breakout big man Mark Williams off the offensive glass. He had only two offensive rebounds in 18 minutes (it helped that he was battling foul trouble). In the second game, though, Williams had his revenge. With his 21 points and 24 rebounds (15 offensive), he was the driving force behind Charlotte's 124-117 win.

Now the Wizards are well aware of what the young center can do on the glass if he gets going. Boxing out Williams and keeping him off the offensive glass won't be a one-man job. It'll be up to the defensive scheme and all five guys on the court.

After a relatively slow start to the season, LaMelo Ball has found his groove. Over the last eight games, he's been one of the best players in the league, averaging 32 points on .503/.449/.892 shooting splits to go along with 8.1 assists and 6.5 rebounds. He's one of those rare players who can fill up the entire box score single-handedly.

With the way Ball is playing right now, the Wizards' top perimeter defenders will have their hands full. Look to Deni Avdija and Bilal Coulibaly to handle most of that responsibility.

One of the surprising success stories for the Wizards to start the season has been their bench production. They're currently fourth in the league in bench scoring, getting 43.2 points per contest. Their bench is also fourth in assists (10.7) and sixth in 3-pointers made (5.4).

Some of the production was predictable. For example, Corey Kispert is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign and looks more comfortable in all aspects of his game. Fans expected him to play well, and he has. But 19-year-old rookie Coulibaly and veteran guard Landry Shamet have been two overwhelmingly bright spots, and a bit of a surprise.

Coulibaly has progressed faster than anyone could've expected, already proving himself as a top-level defender and a solid offensive weapon. And Shamet has been providing an incredible offensive spark in his limited minutes. He's been hitting movement threes, keeping the floor spaced, and finishing with authority at the rim.

Keep an eye on the bench in Wednesday night's matchup with the Hornets.

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Preview: Wizards and Hornets clash in Charlotte

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Coach Unseld, Landry Shamet, Kyle Kuzma, and Bilal Coulibaly spoke to the media following Sunday afternoon's game against the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn.

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Media Availability: Wes Unseld Jr., Landry Shamet, Kyle Kuzma, and Bilal Coulibaly | 11/12/23

Coach Unseld and Landry Shamet spoke to the media following Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

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Media Availability: Wes Unseld Jr. and Landry Shamet | 11/01/23

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Through The Lens with Landry Shamet

Landry Shamet spoke to the media during the Washington Wizards 2023 Media Day on October 2nd at Capital One Arena.

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Media Availability: Landry Shamet 10/02/23

WASHINGTON, DC – The Washington Wizards announced today that the team will begin training camp presented by MedStar Health on Tuesday, October 3, with practices taking place from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the MedStar Health Performance Center. 

“Our players have been tightly connected throughout the summer, showing dedication to their craft and a commitment to working hard as they prepared for the upcoming season,” said General Manager Will Dawkins.&nbsp; “We’re now all very eager to transition that individual work into a group setting, building on the energy and excitement we’ve seen so far with a very competitive camp.”

The Wizards’ training camp roster is below.  With the exception of center Daniel Gafford (left elbow sprain) and guard Landry Shamet (left great toe fracture), all players are expected to be available for the start of camp.

Gafford sprained his left elbow during a voluntary pick-up game with his teammates this past week.&nbsp; The injury will be treated conservatively and his return to play prognosis will be evaluated weekly through clinical and functional testing.&nbsp; He is expected to miss two to four weeks.&nbsp;

Shamet fractured his left great toe during a voluntary pick-up game with his teammates this past week.  The injury will be treated conservatively and his return to play prognosis will be evaluated weekly through clinical and functional testing.  He is expected to miss two to four weeks.