BulletsBasketBlog

The Washington Wizards had no answer for LaMarcus Aldridge who scored a game-high 27 points as the Spurs beat the Wizards 98-90 on Wednesday evening.

Unfortunately for the Wizards, the loss drops them to sixth in the Eastern Conference thanks to the 76ers defeating the Grizzlies earlier in the evening. That’s just life in the Eastern Conference playoff race these days.

San Antonio played like the desperate team tonight.

Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre eat. Everyone else? Not so much.

Markieff Morris was outstanding tonight leading the Wizards with a season-high 27 points and Bradley Beal added 19 but it was Karl-Anthony Towns who stole the show with a game-high 37 points on 13-17 shooting.

Washington falls apart in the fourth quarter - Minnesota uses a 14-0 run and knocks down 10-12 field goals to start the quarter as they outscored the Wizards 34-21.

Markieff Morris turns in his best game of the season - Since the All-Star break, it seems like the play of Markieff Morris is usually a good barometer for how the rest of the Wizards squad will play. He led the Wizards with a team-high 27 points on 10-15 shooting.

Points in the paint are still a problem - Washington surrenders 64 points in the paint and have now given up 200 points in the restricted area over their past three games combined.

Twitter: @ajenks24

There was a little bit of good, a lot of bad, and plenty of ugly for the Wizards over their past two games against the Pelicans (W) and Heat (L).

The Good: Washington ended New Orleans' 10-game winning streak, albeit without Anthony Davis.

The Bad: Live-ball turnovers continue to be a problem.

The Ugly: The opposition's points in the paint are starting to become a major issue for the Wizards.

Twitter: @ajenks24

Bradley Beal scored 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting and Tomas Satoransky had a bounce-back game with 19 points and seven assists as the Wizards escaped with a 117-113 overtime victory against the Heat on Tuesday night.

Late game execution (on both ends) remains a huge problem for Washington.

The Minute(s) Man, Bradley Beal, has another All-Star performance.

Markieff Morris keeps humming along.

Washington gets a much-needed spark from their bench.

Twitter: @ajenks24

Bradley Beal had a chance to tie the game with just seconds remaining. After catching the inbounds pass, Beal sidestepped Myles Turner for a wide-open three-pointer but it fell short as the Wizards fall to the Pacers, 98-95.

Victor Oladipo, the former DeMatha product scored a game-high 33 points for the Indiana Pacers who jump into the 4-seed with the win this evening.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 22 points (8-27 shooting) and Otto Porter added 17 (6-12 shooting) but it wouldn’t be enough, as the Wizards can’t complete the comeback to overcome a 17-point deficit.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers - 14 Washington turnovers led to 20 Indiana points including two easy layups late in the game as the Wizards were mounting their comeback.

No love for Otto Porter down the stretch - After connecting on all 4 shots in the third quarter, Otto Porter took just one shot in the fourth quarter.

Brooks' rotations remain a mystery.

Twitter: @ajenks24

DeMar DeRozan hits two clutch baskets late behind a team-high 23 points as the Raptors beat the Wizards Friday night 102-95. C.J. Miles added 20 points off the bench on 7-10 shooting including going 6-9 from three-point range as the Raptors even the season series with the Wizards at two games apiece.

Otto Porter led the Wizards with 24 points (9-12 shooting) and Bradley Beal added 23 points for the Washington starters who had to carry the load as they got next to no production from the reserves this evening.

Turnovers are becoming a problem for Washington as they committed 18 tonight resulting in 27 points for Toronto.

The difference in bench units made the difference tonight as the Raptors were able to mount a comeback with their reserves whereas Washington got next to no help from their bench.

Washington kicks off their hell week with a 109-94 victory over the 76ers, maintaining the 4-seed. Bradley Beal came up big down the stretch ending the night with 24 points. The dynamic duo of Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre jr. We’re outstanding tonight combining for 42 points. Everyone eats as the Wiz dish out 35 assists in their 8th straight win at home over Philly.

After one of their best wins on the season in Cleveland, Washington lays an egg the very next night with a 122-105 Home loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Bradley Beal scored 33 and Otto Porter added 16 but turnovers (14) and a sub par defensive effort doomed the Wizards tonight.

Washington began the tail end of the season with a road win in Cleveland, 110-103. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 18 points and Tomas Satoransky continues to impress with 17 points and 8 assists. Kelly Oubre broke out of his funk with 17 points off the bench as the Wizards are 10 games above .500 for the first time this season (34-24).

The Wizards entered the All-Star break riding high winning 7 of their last 9 games. However, things are about to get a whole lot tougher as 18 of their remaining 25 games are against teams with winning records. It all starts back up Thursday night in Cleveland as the Wizards take on the new look Cavaliers.