Story By: Richard Thomas
Photos By :Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
With all of this contract talk about re-signing Bradley Beal, well he made another strong case tonight why he needs to stay in D.C with his explosive teammate John Wall.
Beal’s game winning three pointer with 0.3 remaining help lift the Wizards to a 102-99 victory over the Spurs and improve their record to 4-1 on the season. Beal hit the shot over one of the best defenders in the NBA Kawhi Leonard
”It’s just me coming into my own I guess,” said the 22-year-old Beal, who shot 11 of 22 on a night when Leonard was his primary defender.
”He’s definitely one of the best to ever guard me,” said Beal, who has scored 24 or more points in all four of Washington’s games this season. ”But at the same time, I’m not going to let anybody just keep me from being me.”
John Wall who helped cap the fourth quarter run by the Wizards started the game slow but hit 15 of his 17 points after halftime, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and added 13 assists for Washington. Wall and Beal, who entered Wednesday as the league’s top-scoring guard duo, had the Wizards’ last 15 points.
“These guys just work hard every day, said Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman. ” I can’t ask for more than these two guys do to help us win games. John started a little slow tonight but proved what he is able to do at anytime on the court.”
San Antonio was led by Leonard’s 23 points and Tony Parker scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who committed 21 turnovers and had their three-game win streak snapped.
”We had turnovers that weren’t caused,” Aldridge said. ”Trying to throw full-court passes, trying to throw fast-break passes and the guys not looking. Things like that.”
Wizards Notes:
New Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker received a hearty ovation when he was shown on the videoboard sitting in a lower-level suite with general manager Mike Rizzo. Baker will be officially introduced at a news conference Thursday.
