Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal poured in a career-high 51 points in Portland on Tuesday night to down the Trail Blazers, 106-92.
Tuesday night in Portland, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal joined superstars LeBron James and James Harden as the only players to score 50-plus points in a game this season. Washington moves to 13-11 on the year, beating the Blazers 106-92 despite another slow start from the first unit.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (14) and Mike Scott (10) were the only other Wizards players to reach double figures.
Washington’s defense played an important role in the victory. They held Portland’s dangerous duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to just 44 points combined on 41 percent shooting. The team is now 10-1 this season when holding opponents under 100 points.
Bradley Beal's 51 points are the most ever by a visiting player in Portland, two points more than previous record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lou Hudson: https://t.co/0Z5zhLrYmf
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) December 6, 2017
Here’s the takeaways from this historic night.
Beal or Bust
A day after one of the worst losses in franchise history in which the Wizards scored just 69 total points, Beal took it upon himself to get his team going offensively.
Aggressiveness was the team’s mantra and Beal reiterated that concept multiple times in a halftime interview with NBATV.
.@RealDealBeal23 joins @3DTV after scoring 1️⃣9️⃣ first-half points for the @WashWizards. #PlayersOnly pic.twitter.com/RX9iwCXT5J
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 6, 2017
Beal was nothing short of spectacular from the opening tip. Often criticized for not taking enough shots–especially now that superstar guard John Wall is out with left knee soreness–the “Real Deal” showed Portland why the nickname is more than just a catchy Twitter handle.
He opened the game with a quick 12 points, missing just three of his first eight attempts. Pull-up jumpers from mid-range, hesitation dribbles to the bucket, catch-and-shoot pops, Beal flexed his entire offensive repertoire.
Coming into the game, Beal had an average usage rate (percentage of team plays used by a player while on the floor) of 29.5. That average catapulted to 46 percent on Tuesday night, according to basketball reference’s advanced box score stats. The result was a 51-point masterpiece on 21-of-37 shooting, including five 3’s.
Struggling Starters
Despite Beal’s incredible scoring output, his fellow starters aren’t doing much to help on the offensive end. It marked the second time in four outings, that starters not named Beal failed to reach double figures. The starters slugged their way through another first quarter and were down 12-7 after shooting just 30 percent from the field.
It was the combination of Beal (logged 43 minutes) and the bench, that pulled the team out of the funk. The Washington bench outscored Portland’s 20-7 by halftime, as the team took a commanding 51-37 lead.
The starters were best on the defensive end against Portland, who shot just 41 percent. They helped contain the Blazers stars, made it tough for them to complete easy passes and closed out possessions with rebounds. They also capitalized on a 19-10 turnover advantage.
Forcing Turnovers
The turnover advantage was a theme that benefited the Wizards the entire game. Fueled by Oubre’s team-high five steals, Washington snatched the ball 16 times and turned them into 23 points.
Creating havoc in the passing lanes and disrupting timing proved to be the perfect recipe for success against one of the worst assisting teams in the league. The Wizards were able to use their steals and get out in transition.
They beat the Blazers decidedly in fast break points: 16-0.
Washington looks to make it two road wins in a row on Thursday when they travel to Phoenix. They’ll try to avenge an early-season home loss to the Suns back in November.
If you missed the game, here’s Beal’s highlights from his career night.