Wizards

Wizards

In a 125-118 win over the Hornets Friday night, the Wizards secured back-to-back victories for the first time since March of last season. 

They were down by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter, but behind another 30-point night from Bradley Beal and strong performances from Davis Bertans and Ish Smith off the bench, Washington made an impressive comeback to improve to 5-8.

Here were the three biggest moments from the game:

Bertans gets hot from deep

In a familiar fashion during the second quarter, the Wizards offense was flowing smoothly and so was their opponents. The game was seemingly trudging along until Jordan McRae rose up to posterize Marvin Williams. 

Once that happened, the crowd started to get into it and Davis Bertans got hot from deep. For whatever reason, the Hornets were sagging off Bertans so he promptly drilled five threes in the first half.

He finished going 6-11 from beyond the arc.

Without Bertans going off in that short span, the Hornets might have had a bigger lead going into halftime. Instead, Washington remained in striking distance despite another bad half of basketball from the defensive end of the floor. 

 

Miles Bridges dagger three

Before the game, we outlined the importance of keeping Bridges out of rhythm. His offensive skill set isn't quite polished off to the point where he consistently puts up efficient 20-point performances, so keeping him uncomfortable was key for the Wizards to win this game. 

That didn't happen, and when the Wizards needed a stop in the fourth quarter, Bridges made them pay. 

A lazy pass that should have been turned over bounced his way over to the second-year wing, and with Beal sagged off of him to keep him away from the paint, Bridges rose up and knocked down a clutch three. 

Scott Brooks called a timeout, and all of a sudden the Hornets were up 13 with nine minutes to go in the game. 

Smith ices the game

Ish Smith was key in the Wizards' win over the Spurs Wednesday, and he was a major reason why the Wizards were able to make such a big fourth-quarter comeback. 

With under four minutes to go, Smith found Thomas Bryant on the roll for a big two-handed slam to bring the Wizards within one. Then McRae hit a big three one possession later to put them in the lead. 

In crunch time with his team up four, Smith took his man off the dribble and finished a crafty right-handed level to all but ice things for Washington. 

While the Wizards fell behind big in the fourth quarter thanks to their defense, their irresistible attack on offense kept them alive late. 

The Wizards will host the Kings on Sunday as they look to grab their third straight and move up the Eastern Conference playoff picture. 

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