Wizards 110
Cavaliers 103
February 22, 2018 | Quicken Loans Arena | Cleveland, OH
The Washington Wizards started off the second half of the season playing against the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers, without their All-Star point guard, John Wall.
They would need all hands on deck in order to win a game against LeBron James' new team. Despite allowing the Cavs to lead them 31-22 at the end of the first quarter, the Wizards outscored the Cavaliers in the second and fourth quarters, leading them to a 110-103 victory.
(Photo: David Liam Kyle via Getty Images)
"Man, everybody eats," Bradley Beal said post game. "I'mma keep saying it man. That's the way we need to play. When we defend, we are one of the best teams getting out in transition getting easy buckets. We got so many guys who can put the ball on the floor; who can shoot the three. So we just trust each other."
Beal said the Wizards had "big shoes to fill" without Wall. However, he mentioned everyone must play at a high-level including himself. That is exactly what the Wizards did. Five players were in double-figures and Beal led the team with 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field as well as a career-high tying nine assists. Tomas Satoransky and Otto Porter Jr. combined for 32 points. However, it was the second unit that showed up in the second half that help put the Wizards in position to win.
Kelly Oubre was the X-Factor
Oubre was the spark off the bench for Washington. He shot 50 percent from the field including 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Additionally, he knocked down clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter. The second unit collectively outscored Cleveland's bench 45-34 and shot 43.6 percent from the field.
Wizards almost let this one slip away
Though the Wizards were victorious, this game came down to the wire. At one point, Washington had a 16-4 scoring run spanning over five minutes. At that time, Washington led Cleveland, 104-93 with just under four minutes left in regulation. But in true James fashion, he put his team on his back and got the Cavs within three with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter.
James scored 14 points shooting 6-of-9 from the field in the final nine-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter, while his teammates were scoreless shooting 0-of-10 from the field. Despite the effort, it was not enough for the Cavaliers to beat Washington.
"We just stayed poised man," Beal said. "We know this is game of runs. We know that this is a great team. Lebron turned it on and that's pretty self-explanatory in itself. He turned it on, but we did a good job at sustaining and (punching) back. We didn't just take the hits and just kept falling back we actually retaliated. So it was definitely a great road win for us."
What's Next?
Washington improved to 34-24 on the season and has won eight of the last ten games without Wall. Now the Wizards will head home to play the Hornets and will have their next six out of seven games at home.
This win against Cleveland was a statement win and this team will need to play with the same level of energy on Friday night. Winning against Cleveland just to embarrassing lose against Charlotte will not change the narrative that this team should be taken seriously as a possible Eastern Conference contender.