Jordan Poole shoots the Wizards out of the NBA cellar with a late 3-pointer

WASHINGTON (AP) – In dramatic fashion, Jordan Poole lifted the Washington Wizards out of the NBA cellar.

Poole’s 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left put Washington ahead and the Wizards went on to beat the Charlotte Hornets 113-110 Thursday evening. The win — and a loss by New Orleans — means Washington no longer has the league’s worst record.

Despite a 16-game losing streak earlier this season, the Wizards (5-23) are ahead of the Pelicans (5-26) and not too far behind Toronto (7-24) and Charlotte (7-23). Since its long skid, Washington has gone 3-5, including two wins over the Hornets a week apart.

“I’ve always felt like I’ve been the man of the moment and I make big shots all the time,” said Poole, who scored 25 points. “Kudos to the coaching staff for putting the ball in my hands and shout out to my teammates for finding me too.”

The 25-year-old Poole is practically an elder statesman on a Washington team with three rookies — Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George — averaging at least 25 minutes per game.

Sarr had 15 points — including a key tip-in with 14.8 seconds left — and three blocks Thursday.

“We’re learning, we’re trying to come up with a lot of 3s, but I think something that coach harps on night in and night out is just trusting our defense,” Poole said. “Because we’re so young a young team right now where we’re still trying to find our identity on offense.”

The Wizards won despite scoring just 17 points in the fourth quarter.

“We got tough defensively,” coach Brian Keefe said. “You can win sometimes when you don’t shoot the ball well. Great effort by our guys.”

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