Wizards finally hold a team under 100 points, the last NBA team to do so this season

WASHINGTON (AP) — It took 57 games for the Washington Wizards to hold a team under 100 points this season.

Of course, Marcus Smart wasn't around for most of those.

Smart and the Wizards held Brooklyn to 12 points in the fourth quarter of their 107-99 victory over the Nets on Monday night. Washington was the only team in the NBA that hadn't kept an opponent in double digits this season, but the Wizards finally did it in Smart's second game with them.

“It took everybody,” Smart said. “That Brooklyn team as we all know, they don't back down from nobody. They're going to come out and test you on both ends.”

The 2022-23 Utah Jazz went the whole season without holding an opponent under 100, according to Sportradar. They were the first team that failed to hold a team under 100 since the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets. Denver also needed until game No. 74 to do it in 1986-87.

The Wizards acquired Smart from Memphis in a recent trade that moved him from one of the top teams in the Western Conference standings to the league-worst Wizards. He was the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year with Boston, but he hasn't played much since being dealt to the Grizzlies in June 2023.

Smart has been dealing with an injury to his right index finger recently, but he made his debut for the Wizards last week and played again Monday. He scored 10 points in 21:38 against Brooklyn.

“There is some people that kind of probably slept — I haven't played in a couple years consistently, and they probably forgot about me — which is cool. I'm used to it,” Smart said. “I still do what I do.”

Brooklyn took a 97-96 lead on Trendon Watford's layup with 4:45 remaining. Then the Nets didn't score again until a couple of free throws with 13 seconds left.

Washington won despite 23 turnovers. Brooklyn committed 18 of its own.

“We weathered the storm,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “We didn't play a perfect game. We scored 40 points in the second half. We struggled to score at times. We're still learning chemistry with the new guys. But that didn't stop us from staying competitive and staying with the game. We really won the game tonight with our defense.”

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Washington Wizards guards Bilal Coulibaly (0) and Marcus Smart (36) high-five as Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)

Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford dives for the ball against Washington Wizards guard Marcus Smart (36) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)

Washington Wizards guard Marcus Smart (36) and Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) exchange words during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)

Washington Wizards guard Marcus Smart goes up to shoot against the Brooklyn Nets during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela will pose a fresh test of his ability to hold together a restive Republican coalition during a challenging election year.

While most Republicans lined up behind the president in the immediate aftermath of the stunning U.S. mission to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and bring him to the United States to face criminal charges, there were signs of unease across the spectrum within the party. In particular, Trump's comments about the U.S. positioning itself to “run” Venezuela have raised concerns that he is abandoning the “America First” philosophy that has long distinguished him from more traditional Republicans and helped fuel his political rise.

“This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn't serve the American people, but actually serves the big corporations, the banks and the oil executives,” outgoing GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a former Trump ally, told NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Those concerns were shared by some who are not as closely aligned with the party's far-right flank.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, a moderate who is one of the most vulnerable Republicans heading into the November midterms, said in a statement that “the only country that the United States of America should be ‘running’ is the United States of America.”

Those comments reflect the sensitive dynamics between Trump and his fellow Republicans at the outset of an election year in which their party risks losing control of Congress. While the president remains the undisputed dominant force inside the GOP, the ironclad grip Trump has long held over the party has faced unusual challenges in recent months. Blocs of Republicans have come together to pressure Trump to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Others have been vocal in encouraging Trump to take concerns about affordability more seriously.

Few issues, however, are as central to Trump's political brand as the idea of ensuring that the U.S. does not get entangled in seemingly endless foreign conflicts at the expense of domestic priorities. During a 2016 Republican presidential debate, for instance, he called the Iraq War a “big, fat mistake."

By Saturday, Trump said he was “not afraid of boots on the ground” if that was deemed necessary, and he framed his actions in Venezuela as steps that are grounded in prioritizing the safety and security of Americans. As he articulated an aggressive vision of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, he told reporters it was important to “surround” the U.S. with “good neighbors."

His comments about revitalizing the oil industry in Venezuela are in line with some of the earliest critiques he made of the handling of the Iraq War. During a 2013 speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said the U.S. should “take” oil from Iraq and “pay ourselves back.”

Amid some of the pushback about the U.S. taking expansive responsibility for managing Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday suggested a more limited role. He said that Washington would not handle day-to-day governance of the South American country other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on Venezuela.

It is not clear that any forceful, organized opposition to Trump's Venezuela policy is emerging within the GOP. Instead, many lawmakers appear to be giving the Republican administration some room and, at most, offer some warnings.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who faces a potentially challenging reelection campaign this year, called Maduro a “narco-terrorist and international drug trafficker” who should stand trial even, as she said “Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves.”

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who often criticizes military interventions, did not specifically oppose Trump's actions even as he wrote on X that “time will tell if regime change in Venezuela is successful without significant monetary or human cost.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has clashed with Trump and is not seeking reelection this year, said Maduro was a “thug” and that Trump has “broad constitutional authority and long historical precedent for the limited use of military force.”

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump listens to a question during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Secretary of State Marco Rubio watches. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)