Rui Hachimura drops season-high 20 points in first game back from ankle sprain

In Thursday's final game before the All-Star break, the Wizards power forward led the team in scoring in a winning effort against Brooklyn

Hachimura hasn't seen time in the Wizards starting lineup this season after starting all 57 games he played in last year (photo courtesy of the Washington Wizards on Twitter). 

Washington Wizards power forward Rui Hachimura is heading into the NBA All-Star break on a high note. In Thursday’s road game at the Barclays Center where the Wizards beat the Nets 117-103, Hachimura dropped a season-high 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting.

To accompany Hachimura’s big day out, Wizards shooting guard and former Gonzaga teammate Corey Kispert dropped 16 points and on 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc to lead the Wizards past the eighth ranked team in the eastern conference.

Kispert also logged one assist on the night, which just so happened to be a feed to a cutting Hachimura who drove to the hoop and slammed it down in the fourth quarter. A play reminiscent of what Gonzaga would see in 2018.

.@ZagMBB does this look familiar? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/hsqwQ1SMXZ

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) February 18, 2022

In his leading scoring effort for the Wizards off the bench, Hachimura was perfect on both of his 3-point attempts and finished the night with a +/- of 5. The 6-foot-8 big man also logged a season-high 27 minutes of action in his first game back from a right ankle sprain injury.

In Monday’s win versus the Detroit Pistons, Hachimura sustained an injury that kept him out for Wednesday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers. However, the Japanese-born power forward was listed as active for today’s game and would be coming off the bench.

Hachimura spent the beginning of the season away from action due to personal reasons, and since coming back on Jan. 9, has been averaging 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds on 44.4% shooting. He’s been averaging 17.8 minutes per game up to this point all off the bench after Hachimura started every game he played in for the Wizards last season.

Meanwhile, Kispert made his fifth consecutive start for the Wizards at shooting guard in their win Thursday. The rookie’s two steals ties the most he’s gotten all season.

The Wizards are winners in three of their last five games and head into the All-Star break four games under .500 as the 11th seed in the eastern conference.