In a battle of young big men, Alex Sarr helps the Wizards snap a pair of lengthy losing streaks

By Canadian Press on January 27, 2026.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Sarr helped the Washington Wizards snap a pair of long losing streaks.

Sarr had 29 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks to lead the Wizards to a 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night that ended a nine-game skid. Washington also halted an eight-game home losing streak in the series against the Blazers, beating them in D.C. for the first time since Jan. 16, 2017.

“They’re a big, physical team,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “I thought we answered that very strongly.”

Washington was outrebounded 69-46, but the Wizards had 16 steals and 12 blocks — their first time reaching those marks in a game since they had 17 and 13 against Seattle on March 9, 1985.

The 7-foot-1 Sarr seemed to embrace the matchup with 7-foot-3 Donovan Clingan of the Trail Blazers. They were the No. 2 and No. 7 picks in the 2024 draft.

“He was trying to be physical on the boards,” Sarr said. “I just responded with physicality.”

Clingan had 14 points and 20 rebounds, including 13 of Portland’s 29 offensive rebounds. Sarr was given space to operate on the perimeter and went 3 of 9 from 3-point range. Overall, he made 11 of his career-high 29 field goal attempts.

“That is a lot of shots,” Sarr said. “I would have loved to be more efficient tonight, but it is what it is. You can’t be efficient every night yet.”

Sarr and Clingan are both part of next month’s Rising Stars teams for the NBA’s All-Star weekend, along with Washington’s Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson. George scored 19 points and Johnson had 18 on Tuesday.

Former Wizard Deni Avdija scored 17 points with 12 rebounds for Portland, but he had six turnovers. The Blazers went 13 of 23 on free throws, with Avdija going 2 for 6.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Noah Trister, The Associated Press