Veteran CJ McCollum scored his season-high of 46 points, leading his team, the Washington Wizards, to a 132-113 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, avoiding a 15th consecutive loss on Tuesday in the NBA.
The Wizards secured their first home win this season, and their first ever in the NBA Cup, keeping their hopes alive for qualification. Washington holds the worst record in the league, tied with Indiana Pacers, with only two wins against 15 losses, sitting 15th in the Eastern Conference.
McCollum, aged 34, said: "We played well. We lost some close games throughout the season and felt somewhat disappointed with the performance and losses. But I think we started well tonight in the third quarter, held strong against their attacks, and put in enough effort to secure the win."
McCollum shot 17 of 25 from close range (68% accuracy) and 10 of 13 from three-point range (77%), tying the Wizards record for most three-point shots in a single game, just one shot shy of his career best.
The star of the night added: "I put in a lot of effort. I sacrifice a lot of time away from my family to go to the gym at night." He continued: "These results come from hard work in the dark and long sleepless nights trying to perfect my skills and improve consistency in my shots."
French center Alex Sar contributed 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Corey Kispert added 19 points for the Wizards.
Group stage matches of the NBA Cup conclude on Wednesday and Friday, with Toronto Raptors securing the first of eight spots in the knockout stages by topping Group East A. Three winners from each group advance, along with one team from each division, with point differential serving as a tie-breaker between qualifiers.
Orlando Magic paved way for the Group B title battle on Friday in Detroit by thrashing Philadelphia 76ers 144-103. Highlighting the winners was substitute Anthony Blake, who scored 31 points, including 27 in the first half, the highest in his career, and 20 points in the second quarter.
