Beal catches fire as Wizards pull away for win over T-Wolves originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Even when the Wizards’ owned one of the worst records in the NBA, it was fair to question whether they were actually as bad as their record. A five-game winning streak and 7-2 stretch later, and the answer appears to be an emphatic no. The Wizards further hammered home that point Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, owners of the league’s worst record at 7-27. It wasn’t immediately a blowout, but Washington calibrated in the second half for a 128-112 win to improve to 13-18. These are the key takeaways.
Defending the paint
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The Wizards got off to a slow start in large part due to poor interior defense and rebounding. The Timberwolves came out attacking the paint, and even when they missed shots at the rim, they followed up to the tune of seven first-quarter offensive rebounds. The T-Wolves got Moe Wagner in early foul trouble and out-rebounded the Wizards 17-11 in the quarter, scoring 20 points in the paint to just 12 for the Wizards. For their efforts, they led by two going into the second quarter.
The combination of Robin Lopez and Alex Len at center did a much better job keeping Minnesota off the glass and limiting opportunities at the rim for Karl-Anthony Towns and company. After losing the first-quarter battle, Washington out-rebounded Minnesota by a considerable margin for the game, 69-56. Towns was held to 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting. The Wizards have mentioned in the past how their centers will be used by committee, and this game just happened to be a matchup not tailored for Wagner, who has otherwise been vital during this stretch of winning.
Russell Westbrook carrying the second quarter
Defending the paint better was one part of turning this game around, but the other was Russell Westbrook’s aggressiveness in the second quarter. Westbrook was mostly held in check in the first quarter, going 0-for-3 from the field, though he did have four rebounds and four assists. But in the second quarter, he was a lot more aggressive looking for his shot while working with the Wizards’ second unit. He scored 10 points, going at T-Wolves rookie and No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards, and may have even turned it up another notch after Edwards blocked one of his layup attempts.
Westbrook finished the first half with a +13 on the floor, the best of any other player in the half, and the Wizards took a two-point lead into halftime. He finished the game with 16-14-12, his 10th triple-double of the season which set the Wizards’ single-season franchise record.
Bradley Beal catches fire
If Westbrook kept the Wizards afloat, Beal brought them home with one of his vintage scoring outbursts in the third quarter. He finished the frame with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and did it from all areas on the floor: he made two three-pointers, there was a reverse layup, a little mid-range sprinkled in, and he brought it on defense. Beal took a charge from Josh Okogie that helped build momentum as the Wizards began to pull away, and followed one of his own misses with an offensive rebound and assist on a Raul Neto three-pointer. The NBA’s leading scorer finished the game with 34 points on 12-23 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists.
