Bradley Beal, Wizards Beat Kings, Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

Led by Bradley Beal‘s second-half explosion, the Wizards beat the Kings 121-115 on Monday evening in Washington, D.C.

Monday’s Kings-Wizards game was a back-and-forth affair between two teams on the edge of their conference’s playoff picture. The Wizards led big early, going up 42–28 after a Jabari Parker three-pointer with 8:21 remaining in the second quarter, but the Kings fought right back and took 60–59 lead into halftime.

After the break, however, it was the Bradley Beal show; the All-Star scored 21 points in the second half en route to a 121–115 win for the Wizards.

The victory was Washington’s third in their last five games and keeps hope alive for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Right now, they’re the №11 seed but sit just 3.5 games back of the №8 seed (currently held by Miami).

№9 Orlando (1 GB) and №10 Charlotte (1.5 GB) sit ahead of the Wizards.

Beal nearly came away with a triple-double on Monday, adding nine rebounds and nine assists to his game-high 27 points. Six other Wizards players scored in double figures, including the rest of the starting five, Parker, and Chasson Randle.

Parker was the second-leading scorer for Washington with 18 on 7-of-13 shooting, followed by 17 from Bobby Portis and Tomas Satoransky, 12 from Randle, and 11 apiece from Jeff Green and Trevor Ariza.

Both Portis and Ariza had double-doubles, grabbing 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

Additionally, the entire starting unit for Washington had a positive plus/minus for the game.

Like the Wizards, seven Kings scored in double figures, led by 23 from De’Aaron Fox. Now, the Kings, who hold the №9 seed in the West, are 4.5 games behind the eighth-seeded Clippers.