Middleton, Coulibaly lead Wizards past Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Khris Middleton and Bilal Coulibaly each scored 17 points and the Washington Wizards defeated the Charlotte Hornets 113-100 on Saturday night in a matchup of the NBA’s two worst teams.

Richaun Holmes added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards, who had eight players finish in double figures in scoring.

Mark Williams had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who’ve lost six straight. LaMelo Ball added 20 points and Miles Bridges had 18 for Charlotte.

The Wizards still have the league’s worst record at 11-48, but the Hornets (14-45) aren’t far behind.

Washington began to pull away late in the third quarter on a pair of 3-pointers by Bub Carrington, then built a 14-point lead to open the fourth when Marcus Smart buried a 3-pointer and scored on a floater.

Takeaways

Wizards: Center Alex Sarr started and had 10 points and three rebounds in his first action since spraining his left ankle on Feb. 21. Sarr only played 22 minutes in his return and was 4 of 10 from the field.

Hornets: Injuries have taken their toll on Charlotte's bench. The reserves who saw action against the Wizards included Moussa Diabate, Tidjane Salaun, DaQuan Jeffries, Damion Baugh and Malachi Flynn. It was Flynn's first game since signing with the Hornets.

Key moment

After Charlotte made a run to get within seven points, Holmes grabbed a feed deep in the low post and muscled in a two-handed layup in heavy traffic. He celebrated by pumping both fists and letting out a yell as the Hornets called timeout.

Key stat

Washington's bench outscored Charlotte's 50-13.

Up next

Both teams are in action Monday night. The Wizards visit the Heat, while the Hornets host the Warriors and Stephen Curry, who grew up in Charlotte.

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