NBA scores 2015: The Wizards haven’t changed at all and 3 other things we learned

Washington was supposed to have a new identity, but they’ve somehow started the year even worse than before.

Nov 29, 2015, 2:00 PM UTC

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Before the Wizards' defense broke down on a half-court inbounds with just three seconds remaining and even before Cory Joseph buried a game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer from the left corner, Friday was already a disappointment for Washington.

Once again, the supposedly changed Wizards offense struggled the entire night. For another night, John Wall simply wasn't good enough. Washington shot a shade below 33 percent from the floor while Wall was 6 of 25 for the evening. With the 84-82 loss, the Wizards drop to 6-8 -- within the bottom four in the Eastern Conference.

Consider the expectations for Washington when it blitzed the Toronto Raptors in a four-game sweep during the first round of the playoffs last season. A small ball approach with much quicker ball movement was supposed to be the solution to the Wizards' regular season woes, yet through 14 games, Washington is the NBA's fifth-least efficient offense.

A lot of the blame falls on Wall, who was a dark horse MVP candidate last year. His scoring, shooting and assists are down while his turnovers have spiked even higher than they did his rookie season. Three missed games from his running mate Bradley Beal haven't helped the team either, since Beal is one of the few Wizards off to any semblance of a strong start. But clearly the problems with the Wizards run are larger than simple schematics.

On Friday, Washington clearly could have taken the win. With just three seconds of solid defense, it could have improved to 7-7, even if it backed into the win, even if it limped to the finish with another night of bad offense. But it couldn’t even manage that. It’s almost unreal that a player could get THIS open in just three seconds.

Raptors' Cory Joseph hits game-winning three to beat Wizards pic.twitter.com/F4WtMUvLiT
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 29, 2015

With small ball and #PlayoffWittman, this year was supposed to be different for the Wizards. Instead, it looks like more of the same -- and maybe even worse.

3 other things we learned

The Nuggets came way too close to a terrible record

No NBA team has ever played an entire quarter of basketball without scoring a point, but for nearly nine minutes in the third quarter, Dallas held Denver scoreless. Kenneth Faried scored a tip-in with 3:05 left in the stanza and Will Barton nailed a contested corner three-pointer about a minute later.

That was it.

The five-point quarter was the fewest points ever given up in a single frame by Dallas and three points shy of the NBA all-time low of two points scored in a quarter, accomplished twice. Denver, which held a four-point lead headed into halftime, lost the game by double figures.

The Warriors are still clowning people

No Harrison Barnes, no problem. It's 18 straight wins to open the year for the Warriors, who are literally playing games with their opponents at this point. Barnes, who sprained his ankle Friday, was replaced in the starting lineup by Brandon Rush, who predictably had his best game of the season with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting. This Andre Iguodala gif after Rush nailed yet another three-pointer aptly sums up the Warriors' season.

The Spurs' defense is coming for you, too

With a 108-88 shellacking of the Hawks, San Antonio has now allowed these point totals in their last five games: 82, 84, 83, 80 and 88. And the rest of the league is suddenly shivering in fear. Kawhi Leonard is in the middle of it, for sure. The rest of it is just good ol' Popovichian magic and the everlasting Tim Duncan.