Bradley Beal scored 31 points as the Washington Wizards overcame a sluggish start in the opening minutes and rolled to a 125-116 victory over the host Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night.
The Wizards snapped a four-game losing streak and won for the fourth time in their last 13 games. They allowed the game's first 10 points but wound up leading for the final 38:20.
Trevor Ariza added 14 of his 23 in the third quarter when Washington outscored the Nets by a 33-19 margin. Ariza scored nine straight points for Washington, including eight points in the decisive 14-0 run that blew the game open.
Washington held an 89-65 lead midway through the third on two free throws by Jeff Green that capped the run and maintained a 101-79 edge into the final quarter.
Thomas Bryant added 18 for Washington, which shot 45.8 percent overall despite missing its first six shots. Jabari Parker hauled in 14 rebounds, Bobby Portis collected 12 boards and Ariza contributed 10 rebounds as the Wizards finished with a commanding 57-41 rebounding advantage.
Green contributed 15 points while Tomas Satoransky handed out 10 of Washington's 34 assists.
D'Angelo Russell scored 28 points and seven assists for the Nets, who shot 45.9 percent and lost for the fourth time in their last six home games. The Nets also lost for the eighth time in their last 13 games and heard some boos from fans after the final buzzer.
Reserve Shabazz Napier added 22 points while Jarrett Allen (12 points) was the only other Brooklyn starter in double figures. Brooklyn's other three starters (Joe Harris, Treveon Graham and Caris LeVert) finished with a combined 12 points on 5-for-19 shooting.
The Nets made a slight dent in the deficit, getting within 103-86 on a baseline jumper by Russell with 9:42 left. Washington then iced the game by getting uncontested 3-pointers by Wesley Johnson and Beal to extend the lead to 110-86 with 7:59 left.
Following a timeout, the Nets lifted Russell for the night, and by the time they cut the deficit under double digits, it was much too late.
Before dominating the third quarter, the Wizards took the lead for good at 23-20 on a 3-pointer by Troy Brown Jr. with 2:20 left in the first. The Wizards took their first double-digit lead at 54-44 on a dunk by Parker with 4:35 left in the second and held a 68-60 edge at halftime.
--Field Level Media
Washington | Brooklyn | |
Bradley Beal 31 | Scoring | D'Angelo Russell 28 |
Tomas Satoransky 10 | Assists | D'Angelo Russell 7 |
Jabari Parker 14 | Rebounds | Treveon Graham 7 |
Trevor Ariza 8 | Free Throws Made | D'Angelo Russell 9 |
Trevor Ariza 2 | Steals | Jarrett Allen 1 |
Bradley Beal 2 | Blocks | Jarrett Allen 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Washington | 125 | 45.8 | 11-37 | 26-31 | 34 | 57 | 4 | 10 | 19 |
Brooklyn | 116 | 45.9 | 8-35 | 30-39 | 20 | 41 | 3 | 7 | 16 |