WASHINGTON – Bradley Beal made two free throws with a tenth of a second to give the Washington Wizards their third straight win, 130-128 over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
Davis Bertans had his career record with nine points of 3 and 35 points, Beal finished with 25 points and a season record with 10 assists, and Russell Westbrook had a triple-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Washington has won three consecutive victories for the first time since December 1-5, 2018.
“When these scams happened, they started looking for me even more, making more moves for me, and I took advantage of that,” said Bertans. “My shots are falling, and sometimes there is not much that the defense can do.”
Denver coach Michael Malone was not satisfied with his team’s defense.
“Obviously, the Bertans killed us tonight,” said Malone. “He leaves the bank to go 9 out of 11 out of 3 to 35 points. This guy should be a guy who shouldn’t take 11 shots from the 3-point line. “
Jamal Murray led Denver with 35 points, and Nikola Jokic scored 33 points. Murray scored Denver’s 11 final points, with his 3-point basket tying at 128 with 2.1 seconds remaining.
Coming from a defeat in Boston on Tuesday night, Denver allowed his highest point total of the season. The Nuggets had a 39-19 lead at the end of the first quarter, but it quickly disappeared.
“We were 20 years old,” said Jokic. “We don’t play any defense. We cannot have so many interruptions. “
Jokic scored 10 points in the first 3 ½ minutes and 15 in the first quarter, and then coach Scott Brooks pitted Robin Lopez against him.
“My goal is just to try to make you not so comfortable,” said Lopez. “He’s someone who likes to be very sneaky and very smart out there.”
TIP-INS
Nuggets: F Paul Millsap lost his second game in a row because of a sprained left knee. Malone said he did not have “a really clear picture” of how long Millsap will be gone. … G. Gary Harris returned after losing seven games with a tense left abductor. … F Monte Morris, who lost his game Tuesday night in Boston with an injury to his right shoulder, also returned.
Assistants: G Ish Smith will lose six to eight weeks due to an injury to his right quadriceps. “This is a big part of the season,” said coach Scott Brooks. … Westbrook was assessed as a technical foul in the fourth period.
BEAL WAITING FOR AN ALL-STAR CALL
Beal has twice been an All-Star and will find out on Thursday whether he will receive a third invitation. He was disappointed that he was not selected last season.
“When I picked up a basketball for the first time, it wasn’t to win a trophy,” said Beal. “It wasn’t to win someone’s approval. It wasn’t to win someone’s vote ”.
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS FOR BERTANS
Before the season, Bertans signed a $ 80 million five-year contract extension with Washington, and was not playing well. Entering the game, he hit 34.9% of his 3 points.
“These two months have been very frustrating,” said Bertans. “I can’t sleep at night.”
NEXT
Nuggets: in Charlotte on Friday night
Wizards: In Portland on Saturday night.
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