CJ McCollum 46-point masterclass breaks Wizards’ losing streak

The Washington Wizards have been the worst team in the NBA this season, which is understandable considering how they’re just in the second year of a full-blown rebuild. But they haven’t been just bad — they’ve been horrific. They entered their Tuesday night NBA Cup game against the Atlanta Hawks with a net rating of -15.5 — downright insanity, even for a team with plenty of inexperienced players.

But on Tuesday, one of the Wizards’ veterans in CJ McCollum simply decided to take matters into his own hands and stop the 14-game bleeding, and against a good defensive team, no less. McCollum, despite being guarded by Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, put the Hawks through the blender — scoring 46 points on 10 made three-point field goals to lead the generally hapless Wizards to a 132-113 win.

Tuesday night brought back vintage McCollum, who, at the urging of the Wizards, has taken a bit of a backseat to some of the team’s younger guys. Kyshawn George (who was out on Tuesday) as well as Alex Sarr have been tasked with doing the heavy lifting, but they are so young that they are outmatched every single night. But McCollum, the team’s resident unc, turned back the hands of time for one night and poured it on.

The Wizards were in the middle of a 14-game losing streak that didn’t look like it was going to end anytime soon. But with McCollum raining fire from beyond the arc, Washington at least gets a taste of a rare victory — and they may not be done winning games just yet.

Wizards might be able to extend their win streak to two games