Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Mychal Mulder (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, March 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
SAN FRANCISCO — Bradley Beal takes heat for his defense. He scores big, though Washington doesn’t always win when he does. He got left off the All-Star team.
Right now, Beal is on an offensive tear that makes him seem downright unstoppable. And he’s not thinking about any of those negatives, focused on having fun — and winning, of course.
Beal had 34 points, eight assists and a season-best five steals, and the Wizards won on the Golden State Warriors’ home court for the first time in six years with a 124-110 victory Sunday night.
“Honestly, I could care less about how I’m playing as long as we’re winning, because my career highs and those good games, what is the record? We’re 1-9 when I score 40 or something. That’s terrible,” Beal said. “I’m not happy about that. I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘Oh yeah, but I scored 40.’ No, we’ve got to win and that’s what I’m about.”
Beal has scored at least 25 points in a franchise-record 18 straight games. He scored 20 in the initial 8:51 of the game and had 27 by halftime, making six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half while shooting 10 for 24 overall.
“The players know, they know he’s impossible to guard,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “He’s one of the elite. Right now, there’s James (Harden). He’s the only one scoring more points than him. He’s really efficient. Not bad. Can you imagine if he was an All-Star what he’d be doing right now?”
Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Marquese Chriss added 12 points and 13 rebounds. Eric Paschall, Jordan Poole and Mychal Mulder each scored 17 points off the bench in Golden State’s ninth straight defeat at new Chase Center.
Beal — coming off a 42 point-performance in a 10-point loss at Utah on Friday night — has scored 214 points for a 42.8 point average over the past five games for the Wizards, who had lost four out of five. Davis Bertans added 29 points off the bench with eight 3-pointers.
The Warriors had their six-game winning streak against Washington snapped and five in a row at home.
They were still without Stephen Curry, who had hoped to return for Sunday’s game from a broken left hand he injured against Phoenix on Oct. 30. He is scheduled to practice with the G-League Santa Cruz Warriors on Monday before his next step is determined.
Wiggins is eager to finally play with Curry and see how “that’s going to open up the floor for everybody else.”
“It will make a big difference, especially for people who can drive and attack the basket because Steph attracts a lot of attention,” Wiggins said.
New Golden State starter Juan Toscano-Anderson, who was in the starting lineup for the first time in Saturday night’s win at Phoenix that ended an eight-game losing streak, had five assists. He is wearing jersey No. 95, the largest number ever used by the franchise.
CURRY PREPARES
Curry went through an extensive on-court session before heading to Santa Cruz. The two-time MVP missed his 56th straight game.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks enjoys watching the West Coast games when his team is done out East — and he has missed Curry.
“I’m sure he was intimidated by the defense our team has been playing this year. He didn’t want no part of it,” Brooks joked before the game when asked about Curry’s imminent return. “It would be exciting for not only his fan base, his coaches and organization to have him out there. He’s one of the greatest players to ever play, one of the greatest shooters to ever play and causes so many problems for opponents. He makes shots that are almost impossible to go in and you have to be next to him whenever he crosses half court, which opens up the floor for the other players to drive. He’s been missed by the whole basketball world. … You could turn on games at 10 o’clock at night and you get a lot of basketball and he’s always been fun to watch.”
HE SAID
After the Warriors got back in the win column at last Saturday, coach Steve Kerr had a little fun a day later.
“Man, what a great day outside. You guys look fantastic,” he offered. “I don’t know what’s changed, I just feel good today.”
So, how about playing consecutive nights?
“We’re hot. That’s the main thing,” Kerr continued. “We are on a run, we just want to keep the run going.”
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT
The Warriors honored women pioneers with the San Francisco Police Department and handed out shirts themed “She Believes” — a play off the team’s “We Believe” 2007 playoff team — as part of Women’s Empowerment Month.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington hadn’t beaten the Warriors since a 112-108 victory on Feb. 28, 2017, or in the Bay Area since Jan. 28, 2014 (85-88). … Washington shot 20 for 30 from deep and converted 24 of 27 free throws.
Warriors: G Ky Bowman sat out a second straight game with a sprained right ankle after leaving with 1:11 left in a home loss to the Lakers on Thursday night. …The Warriors haven’t won at home since beating Orlando 109-95 on Jan. 18. They are 7-24 at home overall and 2-8 against the Eastern Conference.
UP NEXT
Wizards: At Sacramento on Tuesday night looking to avoid being swept in the season series. The Kings won i113-106 in D.C. on Nov. 24, 2019.
Warriors: At Denver on Tuesday night for the second meeting of the season after losing 134-131 in OT at home to the Nuggets on Jan. 16.