It’s a great night for Washington Wizards stars Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, who both contributed significantly to the Wizards’ victory over the Indiana Pacers.
THE WIZARDS WON IN OVERTIME 133-132, WITH BRADLEY BEAL SCORING 50 POINTS AND RUSSELL DROPPING HIS 181ST TRIPLE-DOUBLE.
For the first time this season, Beal and Russell led the Wizards to a season sweep.
Both teams are vying for a spot in the play-in tournament, as they are currently ranked ninth and tenth.
The Wizards are now ninth in the Eastern Conference, while the Pacers are tenth.
In addition, teams finishing seventh through tenth can compete in the play-in tournament to secure a playoff spot.
The teams went head-to-head from the start of the game until the end of regulation, resulting in overtime for the final result.
The Indiana Pacers had a huge lead at the end of the third quarter but couldn’t hold it, and the Wizards came back in the fourth to force overtime.
Where the Wizards defeated the Pacers by a point.
Early in the First Quarter, the Pacers Took the Lead
Caris LeVert opened the night with a layup, giving the Pacers their first lead of the night.
The Pacers led 5-0 after Doug McDermott hit a three-pointer on the next possession.
Rui Hachimura then scored the Wizards’ first basket while drawing a foul, and Westbrook gets the rebound and scores after Hachimura misses the next possession.
The Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis was blocked at the rim by Hachimura, tying the game for the Wizards with 9:18 remaining in the quarter and giving the Pacers the lead with Hachimura scoring.
Beal hits a jumper, and Alex Len converts on Russell’s assist, giving the Wizards the lead.
WESTBROOK’S LEAD WAS EXTENDED TO FIVE POINTS ON THE NEXT POSSESSION.
The shot was back and forth, with both teams scoring. Both teams held a one-point lead until 3:52 remained in the quarter.
The Pacers then went on a 4-0 run, cutting the game to 21-26 with about three minutes remaining.
Following that, Beal hit a jumper, and Daniel Gafford slams the ball on Ish Smith’s alley-oop to cut the Pacers’ lead to one point.
However, Russell responds to the Pacers, tying the game with one and a half minutes remaining.
The first quarter ended 33-32, with Westbrook scoring a jumper with 2.1 seconds left to give the Thunder a one-point lead over the Pacers.
For the First half of the Second Quarter, the Wizards Trailed the Pacers
The Pacers took a point lead early in the second quarter and extended it to four points on Goga Bitadze’s three-pointer and blocks.
Westbrook then drew a foul and scored to pull the Wizards within a point.
The Pacers, however, held a 38-41 lead with 8:58 remaining in the quarter.
Bradley Bead then hit a three-pointer to cut the Pacers’ lead to one point, but T.J. McConnell responded with a three-pointer of his own, extending the Pacers’ lead to six points.
Beal continued his scoring for the Wizards with a three-pointer on the other end, preventing the Pacers from closing the scoring gap.
With 4:25 remaining in the quarter, Washington took a point lead after about 8 minutes.
T.J. McConnell slipped and nearly lost the ball while attempting to score.
However, Levert recovered the ball and passed to Domantas, who scored, and Domantas’ layup gave the Pacers the lead once more.
Both teams scored and took the lead again until the game was tied at 55-55 with 1:39 remaining in the quarter.
With one minute remaining, the score was 57-57.
Beal then gave the Wizards a three-point lead with a basket and a foul with 39.7 seconds remaining.
The Pacers’ Oshae Brissett then paced up the other end, scoring a layup and pulling the game within a point.
And Sabonis drew a foul with a basket, giving him a two-point lead with 13.3 seconds remaining.
However, the Wizards reclaimed the lead with a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the second quarter.
The Pacers Scored Quickly in the Third Quarter
Early in the quarter, both teams went head-to-head, with each team responding to the other team’s offensive moves.
For the first two minutes of the third quarter, they traded scores.
However, the Pacers regained their rhythm and took a three-point lead with 9:28 remaining in the quarter.
Oshae Brissett increased the lead with a dunk on Sabonis’ pass.
With 8:18 remaining, the Pacers went on a 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the night, 69-78.
Beal hit a jumper to pull the game within one point of the Pacers. He kept scoring to keep the Wizards in the game.
And Levert kept scoring to pull the Pacers away from the Wizards.
The Pacers went on another 9-0 run to take a 9-point lead with less than a minute remaining.
With 31.3 seconds remaining in the quarter, Levert hit a three-pointer for the Pacers, and Russell responded with a three-pointer of his own.
Caris Levert hits a three-pointer at the buzzer to take a 9-point lead into the fourth quarter, 92-101.
The Wizards put up a lot of Points in the Fourth Quarter
The Pacers maintained their lead early in the fourth quarter, thanks to their hot shooting in the third.
With a seven-point lead after only a half-minute into the fourth quarter.
Russell passed the ball to Hachimura, who scored the goal.
It pulled the game to within a point before Levert scored again.
With about a minute left in the game, the teams traded goals once more.
THE GAME WAS TIED AT 122-122 WITH 26.9 MINUTES LEFT IN THE REGULATION.
The Wizards took a two-point lead after Russell Westbrook scored a layup.
Caris Levert, on the other hand, tied the game with 3.5 seconds left in the fourth.
And Westbrook missed a jumper, tying the game and sending it to overtime.
The Pacers took the lead early in overtime. And Westbrook responded with a jumper, tying the game once more.
Brissett then gave the Pacers the lead again with a basket.
With a minute and a half remaining in the first overtime, the Wizards led by a point.
With the shot clock winding down, Edmond Summer scored a jumper at the buzzer to give the Pacers the lead.
With a second left, Levert called a foul on Westbrook, putting him at the free-throw line.
He then made both free throws, giving the Wizards the lead.
The Pacers then got the throw-in, and T.J McConnell threw to Levert, who attempted to shoot, but Westbrook blocked him, giving the Wizards the overtime victory.
Following the victory, the Wizards showered love on Westbrook.
This is Westbrook’s 181st Triple-double
Russell Westbrook entered the game with 180 triple-doubles under his belt, just one behind Oscar Robertson, who holds the record for most triple-doubles made in NBA history.
Scott Brooks, the head coach of the Washington Wizards, was all praise for the star.
“On and off the court, he’s one of the biggest winners I’ve ever seen,” Brooks said earlier this season. “He brings so much to our team.
With everything we’ve been through, I couldn’t have asked for a better guy to lead us, and he has – and it hasn’t been easy.
He cares, he wants to win, he wants our players to succeed, he wants to instill a professional culture on and off the court, and he demands it.”
With a huge triple-double against the Pacers, he now ties Oscar Robertson for the NBA record.
In a recent interview with Marc Stein of the New York Times, Oscar Robertson expressed his desire to see Westbrook break his record.
“I hope he understands,” Robertson said.
“I think he’s one of the best guards in the game, and it’s ridiculous that some sportswriters criticize him for not winning a championship.”
Players do not win championships on their own. You must have good management. You must surround yourself with the right people.”
Robertson’s words had an Impact on Westbrook
“When you’re in this position and you get mentioned with the greats like Oscar – not only that, but they compliment things you do for the game,” Westbrook said.
“It’s something I don’t take for granted because Oscar is someone who did more for the game, who played in an era when being an African American athlete in our game was difficult, and he understood and sacrificed so many things to be able to play the game, and I understand that.”
“I’M JUST GRATEFUL TO BE IN THE CONVERSATION WITH HIS NAME AND MY NAME CONNECTED TO HIS.” I APPRECIATE HIS THOUGHTFUL WORDS.”
He recorded his 181st triple-double, tallying 33 points, 19 rebounds, and 15 assists.
Westbrook not only matched Oscar Robertson’s nearly 50-year-old NBA record for most triple-doubles.
However, he also became the first player in NBA history to have back-to-back games with 15 or more rebounds and 15 or more assists.
“I take pride, as I say every night,” Westbrook said, “in leaving it all on the floor.” “I honestly believe there is no other player like me.” If people want to take it for granted, I’m sorry.
I’m confident that if everyone could do it, they would.
Every night, I make an effort to impact the game in a variety of ways, including defense, rebounding, passing, assisting, and whatever else my team requires of me to win.”
Bradley Beal had a monster-scoring night.
Beal, like Westbrook, had a great night, scoring 50 points to help the Wizards win.
With 31.4 points per game this season, Beal is just behind Stephen Curry for the scoring title.
And he’s only 0.5 points per game behind Steph Curry, who scored 49 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
BRADLEY LED THE SCOREBOARD WITH 50 POINTS, 5 REBOUNDS, AND AN ASSIST.
Similarly, Rui Hacimura led the Wizards with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist in the first quarter.
Davis Bertans led the Wizards’ bench with 10 points.
Despite the Loss, the Pacers had a Fantastic Night
Even though the Pacers lost by a point, the players did everything they could to keep the Wizards on their toes, including going to overtime.
DURING THE PLAYS, THE PACERS’ PLAYERS DROPPED HUGE SCORING ON THE SCOREBOARD.
With all five starters scoring in double figures.
Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double, and Caris LeVert had a double-double.
Caris LeVert led the Pacers in scoring with 35 points. 14 rebounds and eight assists
Meanwhile, Domantas had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Edmond Summer had 13 points and two rebounds, and Oshae Brissett had 12 points and four rebounds.
Similarly, Doug McDermott chipped in 11 points and 2 rebounds.
T.J. McConnell led the bench with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, and was followed by Goga Bitadze with 7 points.
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