Tied at 99 with the clock winding down, the 19-year old rookie Bradley Beal stepped up and hit the biggest shot of his young career to sink the Oklahoma City Thunder, 101-99, on Monday night at Verizon Center.
The Wizards led the game for much of the fourth quarter, but a late Thunder run, helped by a long game-tying three-point shot from D.C. native Kevin Durant with 33 seconds left, had the score all knotted up at 99. A.J. Price had a look with about 14 seconds left that fell short, but the ball went out of bounds off of the Thunder. The Wizards took a timeout and drew up a play that put the ball in Bradley Beal's hand. Beal took a few dribbles to his right, gave a head fake, and hit the game-winner with 0.3 seconds left to seal the win for the Wiz.
It was a big win for an undermanned Wizards squad who have now beat both representatives in last year's NBA Finals, the Heat and the Thunder. For a team playing without five players, including some of their top scoring options like John Wall, Jordan Crawford, and Nene, this was one of the more impressive wins one will see.
The Wizards got off to a great start to the game and had a 30-20 lead after the first quarter. They went back and forth in the second quarter until a Serge Ibaka three-pointer gave the Thunder a 55-52 lead at the half. A four point play at the end of the third quarter gave the Wizards a 76-73 lead heading into the fourth. The Wizards held off the Thunder until the final minute when Kevin Durant tied the score at 99 before Bradley Beal would finish the Thunder with his game-winner.
Both Trevor Ariza and A.J. Price returned to the Wizards lineup after missing the past few weeks with injuries. Ariza finished with three points and three rebounds in 14 minutes while Price finished with four points, five rebounds, and five assists in 16 minutes.
Bradley Beal and Martell Webster led the team with 22 points each. Kevin Seraphin, starting for the injured Nene, finished with 19 points and five rebounds, while Emeka Okafor tallied another double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Next, the Wizards have four days off until they host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at Verizon Center.
