SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two consecutive fourth-quarter meltdowns put the Wizards in a hole on their current road trip. It also set the stage for Washington’s most lopsided win of the season. A defense that forced 20 turnovers and an
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two consecutive fourth-quarter meltdowns put the Wizards in a hole on their current road trip. It also set the stage for Washington’s most lopsided win of the season.
A defense that forced 20 turnovers and an offense that set a season high with 17 3-pointers helped, too.
John Wall scored 11 of his 19 points in the first quarter and had nine assists, Otto Porter Jr. had 16 points and the Wizards beat the Sacramento Kings 110-83 on Sunday.
“It was probably the best that we’ve played on both ends of the court,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “Hopefully we can continue that trend.”
The 27-point victory kept the Wizards out of the record books. Washington’s first five games were decided by five points or fewer; no team had ever opened the season with six.
Wall made it a moot point early by making his first four shots, including three 3-pointers, as Washington jumped to a 13-0 lead that was never threatened.
“I haven’t been shooting the ball well so far this season,” Wall said. “If I make shots, teams are willing to live with that instead of letting me get into the paint and get to the basket. If I’m able to knock down shots on a consistent basis it makes our team a lot better and it makes us tougher to guard.”
Bradley Beal added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting for Washington after being fined $50,000 by the NBA earlier in the day for his role in a fight with Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
The Wizards were up 63-32 at halftime, had a 36-point advantage early in the third quarter and prevented the Kings from getting closer than 27 the rest of the way.
Mike Scott added 13 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had nine points and seven rebounds to help Washington snap a two-game losing streak.
Beal was surprised to be playing at all. The veteran guard expected to be suspended after the fight with Green late in the first half of Friday’s 120-117 loss to the Warriors. Beal and Green received technical fouls and were ejected from the game.
“I was really happy I wasn’t suspended,” Beal said. “I knew I was going to get fined one way or the other. It is what it is. Now I can put this behind me.”
While Beal played, Washington was without forward Markieff Morris and guard Carrick Felix. Both received one-game suspensions for coming off the bench during the fight.
Not that it mattered.
The Kings shot 27.9 percent in the first half and trailed by double digits for the final 43 minutes.
“Once they got on us, our young guys got a little frantic and then the wheels kind of came off,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said.
Brian Bogdanovic scored 15 while Kosta Koufos added seven points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento.
ALL THOSE 3s
Of the 85 shots attempted by Washington, 34 came from beyond the arc. That accounted for 40 percent of the Wizards’ shooting. The 17 made 3-pointers were one shy of the franchise record. “We were aggressive off the dribble and they did a good job of closing in their defense,” Beal said. “Then we take full advantage of making the extra pass and getting guys shots.”
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington’s 35 points in the opening 12 minutes were their most in any quarter this season. … The day off probably benefited Morris, who is still on the mend from sports hernia surgery. The Wizards’ bench combined for 45 points.
Kings: Sacramento missed its first nine shots and 13 of 16 to begin the game. … Zach Randolph and George Hill were given the day off by Joerger.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Kings: Travel to play the Pacers on Tuesday night. Sacramento hasn’t won in Indiana since Dec. 23, 2015.
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