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
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