Bradley Beal and John Wall, both the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks, finally played like a backcourt that could help the underachieving Wizards compete for a top seed in the Eastern Conference.
On Monday, Beal scored 32 points on 18 field goal attempts, while Wall added 36 points and 11 assists in Washington’s 135-131 win over the Houston Rockets at Capital One Arena. The duo had to be at its best, because Houston’s guards were unstoppable for most of the night. James Harden and Eric Gordon, who was starting in place of the injured Chris Paul, combined for 90 points, the second-most by a starting backcourt since starts were first recorded in 1970. Only the Los Angeles Lakers starting backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Smush Parker had more, when Bryant famously scored 81 of their combined 94 points on Jan. 22, 2006.
According to ESPN, the 158 combined points by both teams' starting backcourts is an NBA record, eclipsing the previous mark of 140 points set by Portland’s Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in March 2016.
Monday marked only the fifth time, including the playoffs, that Beal and Wall both scored at least 30 points in the same game. The Wizards improved to 4-1 in those games.
“I know I could’ve been playing better early on,” Wall told NBA TV after the win when asked about the team’s recent ugly start. “I was dealing with a little injury, but I never talk about it or make excuses. Once you step between those lines, you gotta compete. I just had to lock in. I had to lock into another level that I probably hadn’t had to before, and just get all these guys to follow my lead. Just not leading by example, but also talking to these guys, trying to put these guys in the right situations, and then telling guys, we’ve got a lot of guys on one-year deals, but don’t worry about that. We’re winning games, you’ll get paid and all that stuff will pay off. Don’t worry about that. Just go out there and play basketball and have fun. I think we’re starting to do it on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive end.”
In a separate postgame interview with NBA TV’s Dennis Scott, Beal called Monday’s report that he wants out of Washington “nonsense” and joined Wall in pointing to the Wizards' improved defensive effort as the reason they were able to win for the third time in four games.
“It starts on defense,” Beal said. “We know James [Harden] had a good one tonight. He’s a great player. We know he’s going to make tough shots. [Eric Gordon is] the same way, but they’re a one-on-one team, they love to space out the floor and get guys to foul them and get whatever matchup that they want. We did a good job of making them take a lot of tough ones, contesting, and just getting out in transition. We knew that when we moved the ball, we can get whatever shot we want on the other end.”
Afterward, Beal congratulated Wall on Twitter for passing Wes Unseld and moving into third-place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list. At 8-12, Washington still has a lot of climbing to do as a team, but for one night, the Wizards' all-star backcourt offered reason to believe that this season isn’t a lost cause just yet.
“I think we all just started focusing on what we did two or three years ago, not worried about who’s getting the shots, just trying to lock in on the defensive end and move the ball,” Wall said. “Guys just having a lot of fun. That’s how we gotta start playing for the rest of the year if we want to be one of those good teams in the East. We gotta find a way to take it on the road now.”
Read more on the Wizards:
The Wizards are somehow at their best when bedlam hits
Wizards get defensive when it counts, outlast James Harden and the Rockets in overtime
Stoic as usual, Markieff Morris accepts his benching, which may last for a while
At least one observer believes the Wizards are ready to blow up. In a good way.
