Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards celebrates after making the game winning basket with seven second left in the second half at Capital One Arena on October 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Scott Taetsch/Getty Images/AFP
Bradley Beal connected from short range with 7.4 seconds left to break a tie and the Washington Wizards held off the visiting Chicago Bulls 102-100 Friday night.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan misfired on a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the final horn.
Kyle Kuzma scored a team-high 26 points for the Wizards.
Beal was held to 19 points, but he hit Washington’s two biggest shots of the night. He also dished out a game-high eight assists for the Wizards, who have opened 2-0 for the second consecutive season.
After the teams traded hoops following a 98-98 tie, Beal got inside the Chicago defense late in the shot clock for the difference-making basket.
CLUTCH BUCKET BEAL 🤯 pic.twitter.com/c4D3h1aw9n
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 22, 2022
After a timeout, the Bulls could do no better than DeRozan’s 28-foot buzzer-beater, but it was off the mark.
Playing for a second straight game without Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball, the Bulls took their first defeat despite getting a game-high 32 points from DeRozan and 24 for Nikola Vucevic.
Despite falling behind early by as many as six, the Wizards held the upper hand for most of the evening, running out to as many as a 17-point advantage midway through the third quarter.
But Chicago chipped away, finally drawing even for the first time in the second half at 98-all on two free throws by DeRozan with 1:19 to go.
Beal converted an Anthony Gill assist into a layup with 1:04 left to put Washington back on top, only to see DeRozan counter with a dunk with 31.5 seconds remaining, setting up the exciting finish.
Kristaps Porzingis added 14 points and Rui Hachimura had 12 for the Wizards. Deni Avdija was the team’s leading rebounder with 10.
Beal hit nine of his 14 shots and Kuzma eight of his 16, helping the Wizards outshoot the visitors 51.2 percent to 41.8 percent.
DeRozan (10-for-11) and Vucevic (12-for-12) did much of their damage at the free-throw line, where the Bulls used a 27-10 scoring advantage to stay in the game.
Reserves Andre Drummond and Coby White had 10 points apiece for Chicago. Drummond grabbed 10 boards.