Wizards bench starters in fourth quarter but beat Kings anyway

The Kings cut a nine-point lead to two in the final two minutes, but couldn't complete the comeback, losing to the Washington Wizards, 116-111. The game dropped them to a game behind the Dallas Mavericks for ninth place in the Western Conference, and just one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns — who they'll play on the season's final day.

The Wizards won despite seemingly not really wanting to. Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 23 points, while rookie Alex Sarr had 15 points and blocked one shot. Neither played at all in the fourth quarter, while starter Justin Champagnie only re-entered the game in the final minutes after rookie AJ Johnson fouled out.

Instead, the Wizards played with 19-year-old rookie Bub Carrington, 20-year-old Johnson, journeyman Anthony Gill and 22-year-old two-way players Tristan Vukcevic and JT Thor. They still held off a team with three past and future All-Stars in DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis.

It's one of the worst losses of the season for the Kings. The 17-59 Wizards prefer to lose at this point in the season. They're only one game better than the Utah Jazz, putting them in great shape for the draft lottery.

Meanwhile, the Kings still have a chance to salvage a disappointing season with the play-in, potentially even hosting a 9-10 game. Wednesday's game was supposed to be an easy one. After they face the Charlotte Hornets Friday, their next four games are against playoff teams.

But perhaps the play-in would only be disappointing. After all, if they can't beat a rag-tag Wizards lineup, the Kings might really struggle against any team trying to win.