Bradley Beal is angry and that's bad news for Wizards opponents
Former All-Star averaged most points in league in February, though wins remain elusive.
Monday 2 March 2020 09:52, UK
Bradley Beal got left off the NBA All-Star team last month, which was a blessing in disguise for the Washington Wizards.
Beal, who was selected the previous two seasons, called the move "disrespectful," then played with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Days after the All-Star break he scored a career-high 53 points against the Chicago Bulls. The next day he notched 55 against the Milwaukee Bucks (both in losing efforts), and finished February averaging 36.2 points, the highest total in the league.
Right now, Beal is on an offensive tear that makes him seem downright unstoppable. Although he takes heat for his defensive play, he's not thinking about the negatives. Instead, he's 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 three-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.
