Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Imagn

Wizards Score Season Low in Third Straight Loss

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Entering their road bout with the defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder on a two-game skid, the Washington Wizards were looking for a miracle of any sort to come by a victory in one of the league's most consistently hostile environments. While D.C. showed promising flashes, especially in the game's tight-knit middle portion, they expectedly came up short.

Woes as Games Wind Down

Washington has made a habit out of keeping each of their now-four losses this season close until the final stretch rolls around. Time and time again already, the fourth quarter has proven to be the Wizards' kryptonite, and that trend continued in the loss to OKC.

Having entered the fourth period down only eight points, just after outscoring the Thunder 35-33 in the third, the Wizards were in the contest, at the very least. That is, until the home team held the Wizards to 24 points in the fourth and, in return, put up 35 of their own.

That run brought the final score out to 127-108, marking a season-low for a Wizards team that had previously found pride in their ability to score, if nothing else. With their identity stripped, little remained for a team facing a bunch of diamond rings.

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Returning Talent

In spite of their third straight letdown as a team, bringing their increasingly worrying overall record to 1-4, Washington did return a crucial piece to the lineup in starting forward Bilal Coulibaly.

After missing the first four games of the season recovering from a hand injury, Coulibaly immediately made his missed presence known with a 16-point performance that served as one of the lone bright spots in the Wizards' defeat.

In addition to his scoring total (second-to-highest on the team), Coulibaly eight rebounds, four assists and an especially staggering three blocks in the matchup; he managed to pile all of this up in just 24 minutes of game time, too.

Coulibaly taking his rightful place back in Washington's lineup not only strengthens the starting group, but allows the Wizards another scoring option that, once the new rotation settles, should yield even greater results than what the team had managed prior to his return.

It'll help that the Wizards aren't playing the arguable best team in the league on a nightly basis, too.

Any loss stings, but this one could've been a lot worse for the Wizards. Leaving a road game against the Thunder fully healthy and within the first five games of the season leaves Washington with plenty of time to improve and, in the long run, find a more successful footing.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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