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FINAL: Wizards 125 | Jazz 121
SCORING LEADERS
Wizards: Bradley Beal (34), Russell Westbrook (25), Daniel Gafford (15)
Jazz: Donovan Mitchell (42), Bojan Bogdanovic (33), Joe Ingles (18)
SUMMARY
The Wizards defeated the Jazz 125-121 on Monday night in Utah in the fifth game of a six-game road trip. Bradley Beal scored a team-high 34 points while Russell Westbrook notched his fifth consecutive triple-double with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 42 points and led a furious comeback late in the fourth quarter that came up short.
Beal and Westbrook combined to score the Wizards’ first nine points of the game. With the game tied 9-9, Utah went on a quick run to take a 15-9 lead before the Wizards countered with a 7-0 run to lead by one. Beal and Daniel Gafford combined for 20 points in the opening frame, but the Wizards couldn’t slow down Mitchell, who scored 17 first quarter points and helped push the Jazz to an early nine-point advantage. The Washington offense went off in the second quarter, hitting 13 of their first 15 field goals and 16-23 (.696) overall. Beal scored 13 of his 34 points in the second, leading the Wizards from down nine at the start of the quarter to up seven with two minutes remaining.
The Wizards cooled off to start the second half, hitting two of their first nine field goals in the third quarter before a Gafford jumped sparked a 13-3 run to put Washington up 92-83. Gafford finished the night with 15 points on 6-8 (.750) and four rebounds in 18 minutes. The Wizards hit four 3-pointers in the final 3:23 of the third quarter, including three from Davis Bertans, to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. Bertans has now hit multiple 3-pointers in 27 of the last 28 games he’s played, excluding a game he exited due to injury. A 17-2 scoring run for Washington came to an end early in the fourth quarter and Utah turned momentum back in their favor. Led by 21 fourth quarter points from Mitchell, the Jazz quickly erased the Wizards’ 19-point lead. Starting with a Rudy Gobert dunk with 8:05 left in the game, the Jazz went on an 18-5 run, capped by a Joe Ingles three, to cut the lead to six with 3:18 remaining. With Washington up nine with 1:26 left, another Utah run brought the Jazz within two points. Beal and Raul Neto, played the first four seasons of his career in Utah, hit free throws in the final seconds to seal the Wizards’ win.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
Washington ends Utah’s 24-game home winning streak
The Wizards’ win over the league-leading Jazz on Monday night puts an end to a 24-game home winning streak for Utah. The Jazz had not lost at Vivint Arena since a New Year’s Eve matchup with the Suns. It also snapped a five-game road losing streak for Washington in Utah. With wins in both of the teams’ matchups this season – Monday night and a nine-point win in D.C. in March – Washington earns its first season sweep over Utah since the 2014-15 season.
Beal leads the way in return from injury
After missing the Wizards’ Saturday night matchup with the Suns with mid-back tightness, he returned on Monday night in full force. Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said postgame that Beal said minutes into the game that he felt healthy and was capable of pushing through the injuries that had limited him in recent weeks. Brooks obliged, and the league’s leading scorer poured in 23 of his 34 points in the first half and fueled Washington’s explosive second quarter. Beal finished the night 14-31 (.451) from the field and added five assists. Beal has put on a show in both of Washington’s wins over Utah this season. In his first meeting with Jazz on March 18, Beal scored 43 points to lead the Wizards to a high-scoring win.
Westbrook’s triple-double chase continues
Westbrook finished the night with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists, his fifth consecutive triple-double and ninth in the last 10 games. He becomes the first player since Elfrid Payton in March of 2019 to record a triple-double in five consecutive games. There have only been four streaks longer than five games since 1983-84, three of which belong to Westbrook and the other to Michael Jordan. Westbrook now has 23 triple-doubles on the season and 169 for his career, putting him just 12 behind Oscar Robertson for the most in NBA history. Westbrook came up huge in the closing minutes, including a mid-range jumper with just over 30 seconds left to give the Wizards a six-point lead.
Westbrook was efficient all night, shooting 8-15 (.533) from the field and 9-11 (.818) His nine free throws were the most he’s made in a game since mid-March. The former MVP has now recorded triple-doubles in both matchups with Utah this season after totaling 35 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in the teams’ March 18 meeting in D.C.
NEXT UP: Wizards at Kings / Wednesday, April 14 / 10:00 P.M. / Golden 1 Center
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT