Wizards beat Cavs to nab eighth straight win
FILE – Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards shoots against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Capital One Arena on March 18, 2021 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Patrick Smith / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Bradley Beal scored 33 points and the Washington Wizards rallied past the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 119-110 for their eighth straight win.
The Wizards, who trailed by eight early in the fourth quarter, closed the game with an 11-2 run.
Russell Westbrook had 14 points and 11 assists, and Robin Lopez and Raul Neto scored 14 points each for Washington (27-33). Beal was 13 of 24 from the field.
Bradley Beal's 33 PTS power @WashWizards to 8 STRAIGHT Ws! #DCAboveAll pic.twitter.com/CSDcybxTez
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2021
The BEST PLAY from each of the @WashWizards 8 straight wins, their longest streak since 2001! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AT6IM0EGzP
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2021
Darius Garland scored 28 points and Jarrett Allen added a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were without guard Collin Sexton (concussion), their leading scorer.
The Cavaliers (21-39) have lost five of six.
Washington’s bench outscored Cleveland’s 51-14.
Davis Bertans’ 3-pointer from the wing gave the Wizards their first lead of the fourth quarter — 108-105 — with 4:02 remaining. Isaac Okoro’s free throw tied it with 2:45 left.
Westbrook fed Daniel Gafford for a go-ahead layup at 2:11 and after a Garland miss, Gafford’s dunk made it 112-108.
Beal’s driving layup increased the lead to six at 1:13. He went down after the basket but stayed in the game. Westbrook got a steal and hit a bank shot to push the lead to 116-108 with 44.2 seconds left.
Cleveland led by seven early with 10 minutes to play. Garrison Mathews’ corner three pulled Washington within 97-93 with 9:21 remaining, and Lopez twice hit two free throws to tie it.
Garland’s 3-pointer gave Cleveland a 77-71 lead at 7:33 of the third quarter and Okoro’s two free throws made it 79-71, capping a 10-0 run. Washington cut the deficit to four on several occasions but trailed 93-87 after three quarters.
Beal scored 20 points in the first half and the Wizards led 63-60 at intermission.
Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half with Cleveland hitting 51.2 percent (22-of-43) and Washington connecting on 53.3 percent (24-of-45).
Sexton suffered a concussion in the first half of Friday’s loss at the Charlotte Hornets, according to the Cavaliers’ website. Sexton finished the game and led all scorers with 28 points.
The Wizards played without forward Rui Hachimura (left knee soreness).
