On Monday night, Bradley Beal decided to do something that he has never done before in his NBA career. The talented shooting guard decided to hit seven shots from beyond the three-point line. That helped Beal become quite the nuisance against the defense. The Washington Wizards defeated the Sacramento Kings by a score of 101-95, as reported by ESPN.
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At the end of the night, Bradley Beal put up numbers that All Star guards normally would. He put up 31 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block. Beal also shot 50 percent from the field, including making seven of his 13 attempts from beyond the three-point line. Very few expect the Washington Wizards starting shooting guard to average anything near that, but if he did, then he would be one of the best in the NBA.
With Bradley Beal being such an offensive force, John Wall decided to focus on other aspects of the game. He attempted to be more of an all around player and came pretty close to pulling off a triple double. Wall put up 19 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists, three steals and a block. That is a tremendous way of filling up the stats sheet. To his credit, Wall tried his best to keep adding momentum to Beal once he saw his teammate gaining momentum.
The other three starters for the Washington Wizards had varying results to go along with the tremendous numbers put up by John Wall and Bradley Beal. Markieff Morris had eight points, five rebounds and four assists. Normally, that would be a quietly good night. However, Morris also missed 10 shots and had six turnovers. Otto Porter Jr and Marcin Gortat combined for 25 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
Overall, the Washington Wizards did not receive a ton of help from their bench players. Kelly Oubre Jr. might have earned himself some more minutes from Wizards head coach Scott Brooks after having a pretty good game. He put up 10 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Oubre Jr. also managed to get himself to the free-throw line six times, making every single one of those shots.
While there are still questions concerning his character, DeMarcus Cousins continues to have games where it is obvious that he can be one of the best overall players in the NBA. He did that against the Washington Wizards. Cousins put up a monster game with 36 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. He struggled a bit with his shot from beyond the three-point line and at the free-throw line. Plus, Cousins also had five turnovers and five fouls. However, the Sacramento Kings got another glimpse of what they have in their starting center.
Rudy Gay continues to audition himself for NBA teams, hoping to either be traded before February ends or be signed in free agency next summer. The veteran forward had 18 points and five rebounds. Unfortunately, he turned the ball over six times.
Off the bench, Ty Lawson had 12 points and three steals. The veteran point guard is adjusting to being a bench player again now that Darren Collison has returned to the starting lineup after serving his suspension. Lawson has a long way to go before he can convince NBA executives and coaches to give him another chance and another big contract.
The Sacramento Kings have a chance at catching up to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division soon.
With the Atlanta Hawks struggling and being on a three-game losing streak, the Washington Wizards find themselves with a realistic chance at taking over the second spot in the Southeast Division if they can string together a couple of victories.
[Featured Image by Rob Carr/Getty Images]