FILE – Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards looks on against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Capital One Arena on December 03, 2021 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
Bradley Beal bested Donovan Mitchell in a high-scoring duel with 37 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 109-103 upset over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
Beal hit 13 of 24 field goals and 9 of 10 free throws, dished out seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and fueled a game-changing run in the fourth quarter to help the Wizards snap a four-game losing streak.
A season-high 37 PTS from @RealDealBeal23 lifts the @WashWizards to the win! pic.twitter.com/CoMa6HUiNs
— NBA (@NBA) December 19, 2021
Mitchell finished with 32 points and four 3-pointers with five assists, but also committed five turnovers as Utah lost for the second consecutive night at home after an eight-game winning streak.
The Jazz took a 92-89 lead after a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, but the Wizards didn’t wilt. Beal sparked a 9-1 surge with three baskets for a 100-95 edge with under four minutes remaining.
Utah pulled within two on a Rudy Gobert dunk with 36.7 seconds remaining, but Washington scored the final four points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a huge 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left for a five-point lead and then Beal knocked down one of two free throws to close out the win.
Former Jazz point guard Raul Neto totaled 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists off the bench. Caldwell-Pope added 13 points.
Gobert scored 11 points, hauled in 19 rebounds and blocked six shots for the Jazz, who played three games in four nights. Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points, but Utah only went 19-for-30 from the free-throw line and shot just 43.2 percent.
Utah jumped out to a 9-0 run thanks to two 3s from Mitchell and another by Joe Ingles. Utah increased the first-quarter lead to 11 a bit later on Mitchell’s third triple.
Washington responded with a 10-3 run to narrow the gap.
Utah went nearly 3 1/2 minutes without scoring in the latter part of the second quarter. The Wizards, meanwhile, went on a 12-point run to seize their first lead, which they took into the locker room after holding the Jazz to 20 points in the period.
Beal scored 13 points in that quarter and, like Mitchell, had 20 in the first half.
The teams sparred back and forth in the third quarter until the final 1:50 when Neto and Montrezl Harrell each scored five points to turn a three-point deficit into an 84-80 advantage.