When the Oklahoma City Thunder came into Verizon center on February 1, they were playing better than any team in the NBA. They had a league-best 38-10 record and were on a ten game win streak, including wins over five of the top ten teams in the league. Superstar Kevin Durant was playing on a historic level, scoring a remarkable 35 points per game.
Meanwhile, the Washington Wizards were still stuck in mediocrity. The team was 22-23, having had the opportunity to surpass the .500 mark seven times already this season and failing every time. The Thunder certainly weren’t expecting a different result from their ten previous games.
Fortunately for the Wizards, the Thunder win streak was halted at ten. Washington bottled up Durant for most of the night and cruised to a 96-81 victory.
The victory puts Washington back at .500 with yet another chance to get more wins than losses. There next two games are against two more excellent teams, the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs, both of whom are 34-13.
But the Wizards certainly have the feeling that they have a chance against any team in the league. Not only have they taken down Oklahoma City, they also defeated the 33-13 the Miami Heat, who are the defending champions, and the 29-19 Golden State Warriors.
Considering the fact that the Wizards are the fifth seeded team in the East, and are only several games behind the third, they have a legitimate chance to grab a top spot in the playoffs and hopefully advance past the first round.
It won’t be easy, the Wizards still have problems with consistency, losing to teams that they should easily beat. But if they can fix their issues quickly, the Wizards have proven they can be a tough out for any team come playoff time.
