Bradley Beal had 31 points and seven assists, and the Washington Wizards beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-109 on Friday for their first win of the season.
Russell Westbrook sat out to rest up on the second game of a back-to-back, but the Wizards (1-5) looked like a much better team than the one that lost the night before to Chicago at home.
Washington jumped to an early lead and answered every Minnesota challenge.
Photo: David Berding-USA TODAY
“The energy’s totally different; it’s just positive,” Beal said of earning the team’s first victory. “It’s uplifting. It’s like a weight off your shoulders in a way, but it’s even better to know we played the right way and played the way we know we’re capable of playing.”
With Beal leading the way, the Wizards finished the third quarter on a 29-7 surge and scored 40 points in the period for a 100-79 lead. Beal had 14 in the quarter.
Malik Beasley scored 21 to lead the Timberwolves (2-3), who have lost three consecutive games with star center Karl-Anthony Towns missing all three games because of a dislocated left wrist.
D’Angelo Russell had 14 points for Minnesota.
“Our energy was low,” Wolves coach Ryan Saunders said about the third quarter. “They were desperate tonight and we should have been that team, too, after our LA [Los Angeles] trip. We were not and it was evident in that third quarter.”
Thomas Bryant added 18 points and seven rebounds for Washington, who had eight players score in double figures and shot a season-high 55.1 percent from the field.
Westbrook missed his second game of the season, but Beal has grown accustomed to playing without a star backcourt mate.
John Wall missed last season and played only 73 games over the past three seasons, while Beal developed as one of the NBA’s top scorers.
Beal scored 14 points in the first quarter, as the Wizards led by as many as 12 and went without a turnover. He did not play in the fourth.
“We can have seven, eight straight losses and we still believe in ourselves,” rookie Deni Avdija said. “Mark my words — we’re gonna be good.”
Russell, the Wolves’ sidekick for Towns, could not pick up the slack without him. He shot six of 16 from the field and had five turnovers.
Without their main man in the middle, Minnesota allowed more than 120 points for the third straight game.
“We don’t feel like you have to add to your load just because a guy like Karl is out,” Saunders said. “It’s on all of us. We need more offensively, more defensively. That’s not just from an individual player, that’s from a collective group. With that, individually, we need more from guys to get out of this rut.”
Also on Friday, it was:
‧ Lakers 109, Spurs 103
‧ Hawks 114, Nets 96
‧ Trail Blazers 123, Warriors 98
‧ Jazz 106, Clippers 100
‧ Mavericks 93, Heat 83
‧ Pistons 96, Celtics 93
‧ Bucks 126, Bulls 96
‧ Suns 106, Nuggets 103
‧ Grizzlies 108, Hornets 93
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS