Frustration appears to be setting in for Kyle Kuzma and the Washington Wizards. The Wizards suffered their third straight loss Monday night, losing to the New Orleans Pelicans 132-112.
Kuzma’s night was spoiled by him receiving a technical, flagrant foul and ultimately fouling out.
Kuzma started the game in a good mood, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. However, it went downhill from there.
First, Kuzma picked up a rare technical foul in the second quarter. He got called for an offensive foul for making contact with the face of Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado. The foul was Kuzma’s third of the game. Bothered by the call, Kuzma ran the ball toward official Scott Wall before tossing it in his direction.
Wall whistled Kuzma for the technical, as Kuzma set a new career-high with his second technical of the season.
Later in the game, Kuzma was called for a flagrant-1 foul after he caught Alvarado in the face with an elbow. Less than two minutes later, Kuzma fouled out the game after being called for an offensive charge with 9:03 remaining.
Kuzma walked off the court and headed straight to the locker room. Eventually, Wizards assistants James Posey and Martin Gortat followed Kuzma before returning to the Wizards bench with him.
He finished the game with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds, and two assists.
Kuzma is having an all-star-caliber season. He is averaging a career-best 21.3 points on 46.1% shooting from the field. However, the Wizards have stalled as a team.
Midway through the season, Washington has a 17-24 record. The team is dealing with injuries, including a lingering hamstring issue for leader Bradley Beal.
Kuzma’s name has surfaced in trade rumors. He is facing a player option for next season. But he is reportedly set to decline the option and become a free agent this summer. The uncertainty with the recent string of losing may be getting to him.
