Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks wanted his players to embrace the adversity they faced going into their game on Thursday. They certainly listened.
Bradley Beal scored 36 points and the weary Wizards, overcoming an overtime loss and early morning arrival in town, defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-112.
The Wizards started slowly following a long flight after their defeat in Miami on Wednesday, but took over late in the first quarter and pulled away.
Photo: AP
“My analytics guy tells me we’re 1-0 when we get in after 4[am],” Brooks said. “We played about as hard as you can play last night and we did it again tonight. It wasn’t easy. I’m tired and I was just coaching.”
Beal was 15 of 22 from the field and had eight assists in 29 minutes.
The Wizards guard scored 38 points against Miami and is 31 of 46 from the field in the past two games.
“That’s one thing coach Brooks and I say a lot, your stats are going to level out at the end of the year,” Beal said. “Shots will fall, shots won’t fall, but everything will level out in the end. I know I’m a good shooter.”
The Cavaliers have lost six straight and 11 of 13.
Cleveland were coming off a 20-point home loss to New York on Monday and struggled against the Wizards, who are also at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Love, who scored 21 points, believes the Cavaliers should be better as a group. Cleveland have not won since a surprising victory in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 11.
“Games like tonight and the last game against the Knicks, we feel like those are teams we should have a very good chance to compete with and win,” Love said. “Obviously, there are teams like Denver that we can beat on any given night, but we feel like we when we put it together we should be able to win games like tonight.”
Washington shot 55 percent and hit 16 of 36 three-pointers. Davis Bertans and Ish Smith each scored 17 points, while Isaiah Thomas had 13 for the Wizards.
Collin Sexton scored 29 points for Cleveland, while Larry Nance Jr had 22.
The Cavaliers led 18-6 before the Wizards took control, thanks to Beal and Bertans, and built a 40-26 lead.
The offense did not slow down after halftime. Beal had 11 points in the third quarter and the Wizards opened a 98-78 cushion.
In Portland, Oregon, Luka Doncic was named as an All-Star starter for the first time, and the 20-year-old celebrated by posting 27 points and nine assists to lead Dallas past Portland 133-125.
Doncic was one of seven Mavericks to score in double digits, with Kristaps Porzingis contributing 20 points, while Jalen Brunson and Seth Curry added 17 points apiece as Dallas won for the fifth time in the past six games.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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