Washington Wizards regroup after uneasy first half to beat Nuggets, 92-85
Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal scores a game-high 26 points to help the Wizards earn their eighth win of the season.
The Washington Wizards snagged their eighth win of the season to conquer a pitiful first quarter deficit against the Denver Nuggets Thursday night.
With a little over seven minutes into the first quarter, the Wizards were down, 13-5, after Danilo Gallinari hit a three-pointer to complete a 13-2 Nuggets’ run. Things only went downhill as the Wizards deficit expanded to a game-high 14 points with 3:31 left in the opening quarter.
To make matters worse, the scoreboard at Verizon Center wasn’t operating at tip-off and continued not to work throughout the first quarter. The Verizon Center announcer was forced to deliver live updates to a mere attendance of 12,645.
A revamped Wizards’ team came out in the second half to hold the Nuggets to just 33 second-half points. An even stronger defensive effort emerged in the final quarter as the Wizards allowed the Nuggets to score just 12 points in the fourth quarter.
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Wizards’ guard Bradley Beal recorded a game-high 26 points with five assists and three rebounds in 36 minutes of play. Beal also made 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc as he shot a team-high 53.3 percent from the field. Markieff Morris and John Wall pitched in by scoring 15 points a piece.
The Wizards’ double-double machine, Marcin Gortat, matched a season-low seven rebounds in a game where the Nuggets dominated the boards. Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds to help Denver outrebound the Wizards, 45 – 35.
Shooting just 76.6 percent from the free throw line, the Wizards shot an impressive 94.1 percent tonight with the help of Wall, Beal, and Morris converting 16-of-17 free throws attempts.
Thursday’s win marks the sixth home win for the Wizards, improving to 6-6 on the season. The Wizards, who are 8-13 on the season, currently sit in fourth place in the Southeast Division, 4.5 games back from the 13-9 Charlotte Hornets.
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The Milwaukee Bucks come to town Saturday night in the final game of a three-game home stand before the Wizards go on the road to play in Miami, then back to D.C. for another three-game home stand.