Inside The Wizards

Valanciunas Ejected, Wizards Take Advantage

Typically, there aren’t many or any ejections in a Wizards game. Last night, there was one.

Candi Waller

Valanciunas Ejected, Wizards Take Advantage
Valanciunas Ejected, Wizards Take Advantage /
In this story:

New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas was ejected from the Wizards vs Pelicans game in the second quarter last night after he caught Taj Gibson in the head with his elbow. While it looked completely unintentional, the referees called a flagrant 2.

Valanciunas being out of the game worked out well for the Wizards bigs. With Kristaps Porzingis currently sidelined week to week with an ankle injury, both Daniel Gafford and Taj Gibson have opportunities to protect the paint.

Related Article: Wizards Ready For Life Without Porzingis For Two Weeks

Gafford scored a season-high 21 points (8-of-11 FG) and tied a career high with 12 rebounds, adding five blocks, two assists and one steal for his fifth double-double of the season. This marks the first time in Gafford’s career he achieved 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ blocks in a single game. Gafford becomes just the fifth Wizard since 2010 to record this stat.

On the offensive side, Gafford has now scored in double figures in 21 games this season. Defensively, Gafford has been showing and proving throughout the season. He has now recorded at least four blocks in back-to-back games and at least one block in 32 games this season.

Taj Gibson grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds, adding nine points, three assists and one block. Gibson’s 10 rebounds mark the first time he’s grabbed double figure rebounds since May 3, 2021 at Memphis as a member of the New York Knicks.

Related Article: Daniel Gafford Takes Charge Against The Pelicans

Published
Candi Waller
CANDI WALLER

Candi Waller also known as "CWall" is the Founder and CEO of CWall® Sports & Entertainment, President of the CWall Foundation, Inc, the Managing Publisher of the Fan Nation Inside the Wizards site, and President of Bowie Television. A native of Gorgeous Prince George's County, Maryland, Candi has been an authentic lover of all sports since her childhood. She was such a sports fan at an early age that she notes one of her favorite childhood shows as the legendary "George Michael Sports Machine". Candi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hampton University, Master of Arts in Human Resource Development from The George Washington University and a certificate in Sports Industry Essentials from Columbia University.  Prior to and during her work in the sports industry, Candi has established her identity as a results-driven, relationship building advocate and professional with extensive years of experience leading and implementing successful strategic change, communications, and stakeholder engagement programs across geographically dispersed organizations. She’s worked across Big Four and Government Trusted Advisor consulting firms such as IBM, Deloitte, and the MITRE Corporation. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the National Press Club (NPC), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce and is an ambassador for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In terms of what she likes to do for fun, that’s just it…anything that is considered fun, she’s all for it! She’s very close to her parents, brother, and sister, and has a host of nieces, nephews, and godchildren. 

Home/Washington Wizards GameDay