Washington Wizards: Rapid Reactions to tonight’s win against the Bulls
By Keith Cork
Fourth quarter notes & bullet points
The beginning of this quarter was enough to give me heart palpitations as they looked like they were going to truly let an 18-point lead slide to an awful, awful team. Shabazz Napier started out the quarter trying to put the team on his back to put this thing away to start the quarter, to mixed results.
Hot. Grade the Trade: Washington Wizards trade Jordan McRae for Shabazz Napier. light
The Wizards were only able to score three points in the first five minutes of this quarter and it felt like the sky may be falling as Luke Kornet slammed the ball to close the lead to just 13 points. Luckily, the Bulls blew their chances with turnovers and a general inability to score the basketball.
And when Zach LaVine hit the three with 6:48 left in the game, my heart sunk. Here we go again. At this point, LaVine had 27 points and Beal had 23.
Coby White closed out the game, and he was playing really really well against the Wizards in this one so he deserved it. He ended with 14 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals.
Beal tried to take over and wound up losing the Wizards a couple of really clutch possessions about halfway through this quarter, with a bad three-point attempt and an even worse charge.
Zach LaVine took over for the Bulls with some nice shot fakes to get Wizards defenders flying by and shooting the easy three-point shot like it was just a layup. He wound up with 19 points in the quarter. He’s really a gifted shooter and it will be fun to watch him in the three-point contest.
But ultimately, Bradley Beal and co. were too much for the Bulls. LaVine and Beal combined for 71 points, a ridiculous number.
End of 4th quarter score:126-114
Post-game notes
- Both these teams need to improve their interior defense. Here’s hoping the return of Thomas Bryant does something for the Wizards on that front.
- The new acquisitions on the Washington Wizards continue to play well, speaking volumes for Tommy Sheppard and the Wiz front office.
- Tomas Satoransky takes playing the Wizards personal.
- Bradley Beal was clearly the best player on the floor and it’s ridiculous that he won’t be representing the Wizards in the all-star game.
- This young Wizards squad likes to make every game nerve wracking, even when it seems like they have it in the bag.
- Troy Brown isn’t ready for the big show, and the Wizards should be worried if they intend to start him next season.
Next. Bradley Beal vs. Zach LaVine, who’s better?. dark