Beal and Westbrook’s domination gives Wizards much needed victory over Jazz
The Washington Wizards losing streak has finally come to an end. After suffering fiver straight losses, Washington finally showed up for a full four quarter against the top team in the NBA, the Utah Jazz. Russel Westbrook and Bradley Beal showed when they are hot, they are a dangerous duo.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles had a fantastic evening combining for 76 points. However, Beal and Westbrook also both together scored 76 points and were too much for the Jazz. Beal finished with 43 points while Westbrook had 35 and another triple-double.
Tonight marks Beal’s 27th career 40 point game. That leaves him just one game behind Franchise Record holder Gilbert Arenas. At this rate, Beal will take the franchise record likely very soon.
Washington got off to a hot start in the first quarter and never looked back. The Wizards dominated in most aspects of the game. The Wizards shot a season-high 54.7% from the floor this season. They also shot a solid 41% from beyond the arc. The Wizards defense also picked up the intensity forcing 16 turnovers by Utah and only allowing 46 first half points.
One of the only guys the Wizards couldn’t stop tonight was Ingles. Tonight marked a career night for Jazz small forward. His 34 points on an astonishing 8/10 shooting from the three point line kept the Jazz in the game even when they went down by as many as 20. Ingles is a deadly shooter. Tonight he revealed to the rest of the league why his role makes the Jazz a dangerous contender out west moving forward.
In the nights where the Wizards defense has been strong, they have been extremely tough to beat. When guys like Beal and Westbrook can each score 30 plus points, how could you beat them without winning in a shootout?
Hopefully for the Wizards, tonight’s victory can start another spark that they had towards the end of the first half of the season. The Wizards tailed off from the solid basketball they were once playing. With the east wide open, anything is possible with a solid stretch for this team to make a run at the playoffs.
