The Wizards followed a depressingly familiar script in their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks — built a large deficit, mounted a comeback when the opponent started slacking off, and then ran out of steam as the opponent got serious enough to concentrate and seal the win.
This is The Loser’s Try in the NBA. The team takes away the Moral Victory of rallying and making things close in the second half. Fans get to talk about the need for consistency. Everyone gets to play “if only...” — as in, if only the Wizards could be more consistent and so on.