NBA: Bradley Beal fires 36 in Wizards’ wire-to-wire win over Pistons
Bradley Beal #3 of the Washington Wizards dunks the ball against the Detroit Pistons in the first half at Capital One Arena on March 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP
Bradley Beal poured in 36 points in 33 minutes and the Washington Wizards cruised past the visiting Detroit Pistons 117-97 on Tuesday night.
Beal made all but two of his 15 field-goal attempts as Washington won for just the second time in seven games, with both victories coming against the Pistons.
Wizards forward Kristaps Porzingis piled up 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals. Corey Kispert had 16 points, while Monte Morris and Deni Avdija contributed 13 apiece. Johnny Davis chipped in 11 points.
Bradley Beal in the Wizards W:
🔥 36 points
🔥 6 rebounds
🔥 7 assists
🔥 86.7% FG pic.twitter.com/scLXi3tZ6L— NBA (@NBA) March 15, 2023
Killian Hayes led the Pistons, who have lost 12 of their past 13 games, with 20 points and seven assists. Rodney McGruder had 16 points and six rebounds, and James Wiseman tossed in 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Corey Joseph also scored 12 points for Detroit, which shot just 38.4 percent from the field.
The injury-riddled Pistons had nine players in uniform. Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, the team’s third-leading scorer, was sidelined due to right knee soreness.
Washington, which never trailed, held a 38-20 lead after the first quarter. The Wizards finished the period on a 20-6 run that included five points apiece from Beal and Kispert.
Davis’ layup with 9:08 left in the half gave Washington a 44-25 lead.
Detroit pulled within nine points with a 14-4 run that included five points and an assist from Joseph.
The Wizards finished the half with an 11-4 spurt, including consecutive Beal dunks, for a 61-45 halftime advantage. Beal had 13 points by the break while Avdija tossed in 11. Joseph led Detroit with 10 points.
Beal hit a 3-pointer with 2:51 left in the third to push Washington’s lead past 20 at 86-65. Porzingis made four free throws later in the quarter for a 94-69 advantage.
Detroit scored the first 11 points of the fourth, capped by a McGruder 3-pointer, to cut its deficit to 11 points.
A three-point play by Beal and a 3-pointer from Kispert made it 100-83. Davis got Washington’s lead up to 25 again on a basket with three minutes left.
