Bradley Beal scores 35 points, Wizards beat Hawks 118-112
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 35 points and the Washington Wizards held off the Atlanta Hawks 118-112 on Friday night.
Beal was 13 of 21 from the field, going 7 of 10 from 3-point range. The Wizards were 15 of 31 on 3s and held on despite squandering most of a 19-point fourth quarter lead.
“We had the game in a pretty good spot and then we kind of relaxed,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “When you relax, teams get hot, make a three, make a couple of threes and then they got hot. But I thought we made some big plays down the stretch.”
Davis Bertans added 17 points, and Jerome Robinson had 14 for Washington. The Wizards began the night 4 1/2 games behind Orlando for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Rookie Cam Reddish scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting for Atlanta. The Hawks scoring leader Trae Young sat out because of flu-like symptoms.
John Collins had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, and Maryland product Kevin Huerter added 14 points and 11 assists.
“We battled back,” Huerter said. “In the fourth quarter we switched up defense a little bit, and Cam got hot offensively. He really got going for us, but we dug ourselves a hole too early in the game. Too many turnovers early, You can't expect to come back all the time from stuff like that.”
A 3-pointer by Reddish followed by Collins' four straight points cut the Wizards lead to 107-102 with 2:46 left. Reddish added another 3 to make it 109-105.
With Washington ahead 114-110, Rui Hachimura, who finished with three points and was 0-for-6 from the field, grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made both free throws with 52 seconds remaining.
“That was a game-winning play, whether he realizes it or not,” Beal said. “They went on a hell of a run and that basically sealed the game and he knocked down the free throws to. That was a big rebound.”
Collins' free throws got the Hawks within four with 16 seconds left, but they got no closer.
“Fun basketball game,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. “Thought our guys competed at a really high level tonight. It was good to see an energetic group. Trying to throw different looks at (Washington) defensively. ... The activity and the ball movement, the pop that our guys had tonight was tremendous.”
TIP INS
Hawks: De'Andre Hunter had 10 points and nine rebounds. ... Dwayne Dedmon (right elbow pain) returned after missing four games. ... Reddish (lower back pain) was back after missing Monday night’s loss to Memphis.
Wizards: Beal has scored 25-plus points in 21 straight games, tying LeBron James for the second-longest streak by an Eastern Conference player since the 2000-01 season behind Allen Iverson (27 games, 2000-01). ... Ish Smith (left hamstring tightness) missed his second straight game. ... Improved to 15-15 at home.
UP NEXT
Hawks: At Memphis on Saturday night
Wizards: Host the Miami Heat on Sunday night.
