Alex Sarr shines with 29 points and leads Washington to victory against Portland

A dominant performance from Alex Sarr! The 20-year-old French center delivered an exceptional performance to lead the Washington Wizards to a 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night. This win ends a nine-game losing streak for Washington, who hadn’t beaten Portland at home since January 16, 2017.

A battle of giants won by the Frenchman

The game was highly anticipated for the matchup between two promising young big men: Alex Sarr (7’1″), 2nd pick of the 2024 draft, facing Donovan Clingan (7’3″), 7th pick of that same draft. While Clingan impressed on the boards with 20 rebounds including 13 offensive, it was Sarr who had the last word.

« He was trying to be physical on the boards », explained Sarr. « I just responded with physicality. » The Frenchman compiled 29 points on 11/29 shooting including 3/9 from three-point range, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks in a complete performance on both ends of the floor.

Kyshawn George decisive in crunch time

Despite the excellent performance of Shaedon Sharpe for Portland (31 points), the Wizards made the difference in the final quarter. Kyshawn George was the hero with 11 of his 19 points scored in the final 12 minutes, including a clutch three-pointer with less than three minutes remaining that gave Washington the lead for good.

« It’s a big, physical team », commented Wizards coach Brian Keefe. « I think we responded very well to that. » Washington also set a remarkable defensive record with 16 steals and 12 blocks, totals they hadn’t reached since March 1985.

This collective victory, with contributions also from Tre Johnson (18 points) and Khris Middleton (19 points), allows the Wizards to get back to winning ways and confirms the rise of Alex Sarr, now selected for the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend.