ORLANDO — Their game against the team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference came down to a block from a guard on a three-pointer, so there wasn’t much for the Washington Wizards to brag about after a 102-100 win over the Orlando Magic.
Washington (20-20) will take the victory, which came thanks to Bradley Beal’s extended arm and a second block from Kyle Kuzma. But far more promising than shooting 40.9 percent against the 25th-best defense in the NBA was that Rui Hachimura made his season debut.
Hachimura, Washington’s first-round draft pick in 2019, suited up Sunday against the Magic for the first time since a June 2 first-round playoff loss at Philadelphia. Hachimura’s season debut, highly anticipated by Wizards fans and even more so by Hachimura’s fervent followers in his native Japan, came after the forward’s seven-month layoff.
Advertisement
He declined to go into detail about his time away, saying only he was dealing with a personal situation. He alluded to needing a break after a demanding schedule — “In Japan, we play year-round,” he said — which in the past 18 months involved going from the NBA bubble to end the 2019-20 campaign to the 2020-21 season to the Tokyo Olympics with little pause in between. Hachimura said this was by far the most time he has had without basketball since he was 13.
“It was great. I been waiting for this moment. I had to take a little bit of time off, but I’m so happy back on the court and playing with these guys,” he said. “I missed the feeling.”
Hachimura said it was his decision to play in Orlando, where the warm weather is welcoming to a body working back to full conditioning.
He entered with 8:45 remaining in the first quarter Sunday as the Wizards attempted to stop a slide in which they had lost three of four games and five of seven. He finished with six points, three rebounds and an assist on 2-for-8 shooting in 14 minutes.
Advertisement
“I thought he did great, honestly,” Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “... He was aggressive. I think he gives you that physicality that we lack at times. His size, his ability to attack off the bounce — he missed a couple of open shots that I think he’ll make. ... I’m excited to see how this unfolds.”
Hachimura missed training camp with an excused absence and joined the team in October to begin a slow, carefully managed ramp-up. The previous time he had played competitively was at last summer’s Tokyo Games, where Hachimura led the Akatsuki Five to their first Olympic appearance since 1976.
Hachimura’s role in his home country was even more significant off the court: He was one of Japan’s two flag bearers at the Opening Ceremonies, an immense honor that came with equally heavy responsibility and scrutiny. The 23-year-old, born to a Beninese father and Japanese mother, became a global symbol for the cosmopolitan, increasingly diverse society Japan wanted the world to see.
Advertisement
He also faced discriminatory backlash from citizens of a country that has a strict definition of what it means to be Japanese — one in which multicultural and biracial people are, historically, not included.
Back in action with the Wizards, Hachimura had to adjust to a slew of new teammates, a new coach and a new playbook he had spent the past few months studying but had never put into practice. After his return was delayed by a stint in the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, Hachimura hadn’t so much as played five-on-five in practice against teammates, a fact that did not seem to worry Unseld in the slightest.
His first point of the night came at the foul line; his first field goal was a leaping, two-handed dunk. He was a bit rusty, eager to get to the rim but showing a willingness at the perimeter nonetheless — his first attempt there was a corner three. On defense, he took shifts guarding 7-footer Mo Bamba (while Daniel Gafford was on the bench in foul trouble) and Terrence Ross, performing ably against both.
Advertisement
Kuzma led the Wizards with another impressive performance, pouring in 27 points and adding a career-high 22 rebounds. Beal chipped in 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
“Kyle made some huge plays,” Unseld said. “He rebounded the ball exceptionally well tonight. ... He’s staying in attack mode, which is great. I think the balance of taking care of [the ball], making the right play, versus staying aggressive — sometimes he does a little too much. But when it’s winning time, I’ve got to give him credit.”
Here’s what else to know from Sunday’s game:
Kuzma’s career night
The return of Spencer Dinwiddie (eight points, 10 assists) and other rotation players made no difference for Kuzma, who blossomed while the Wizards were at their most shorthanded amid their coronavirus outbreak. He kept his double-double trend alive, logging a fifth in six games.
Advertisement
Kuzma’s block came directly after Beal’s at the end of the game, tandem defense that helped seal the win.
“It was damn deja vu, that’s what it was,” Beal said, referring to the Wizards’ many last-minute finishes in the past few days. “... By any means. I refused to let that shot go down — especially when I missed the doggone free throw.”
Ross on a roll
It took the Wizards until nearly the end of the third quarter to finally double-team Ross — after he had already scored 16 points in about seven minutes. The 30-year-old swingman was essential to keeping the Magic (7-34) ahead heading into the final frame. Every time Washington had a potentially momentum-shifting basket, Ross was there, zigzagging through the defense with a retort.
He went 7 for 7 from the field in the third quarter and finished with 32 points.
Harrell still out, Bertans in
Montrezl Harrell cleared the league’s coronavirus protocols this weekend — but not in time to make it to Orlando for Sunday’s game. Unseld said the backup center will be available Tuesday against Oklahoma City at Capital One Arena.
Forward Davis Bertans returned after he missed one game with a mid-foot sprain; he had seven points in 10 minutes off the bench.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGd%2FcHyQaGdyZ6Kqtm60wJyfoqWlp65uvsStrKumXay2u63RnapmpZGctqR7