Milwaukee Bucks fall to Washington Wizards 107-104
MILWAUKEE — Bradley Beal scored 21 points, hitting a clutch 3-pointer and a free throw down the stretch, to help the Washington Wizards hang on for a 107-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Otto Porter Jr. added 17 points and Markieff Morris 14 for Washington which stayed hot after snapping the Philadelphia 76ers' seven-game winning streak Sunday with a 109-94 victory.
The Bucks lost a chance at clinching the season series with the Wizards who hold the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington improved to 2 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-place Bucks. The road team won both games of the series.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Jabbari Parker had a season-high 19 points for Milwaukee.
In the fourth, Morris hit a clutch jump shot and added a dunk before passing up an open look and finding Beal open for a 3 and a 106-101 lead with 59.7 seconds left.
Khris Middleton, who had 17 points, converted a 3-point play and after a Wizards turnover, Tomas Satoranský came up with a rebound in a scramble under the Bucks' basket. Washington got the ball on the ensuing play. Beal made one free throw for the final point. After a Bucks' timeout, Antetokounmpo inbounded the ball to Eric Bledsoe who lost control of the ball and Washington escaped with the victory.
The Wizards saw their lead cut to one five times in the fourth, the last time when Thon Maker hit a 3-pointer and John Henson slammed home a pass from Antetokounmpo to pull to 99-98 with 3:37 left to play.
Looking lost on offense and trailing 64-50 at the half, Bledsoe, who had 17 points, sparked the resurgence in the third with eight points during an 18-6 run, including his second 3 that pulled Milwaukee to 70-68. The Wizards immediately called time out to regroup. They pushed the lead back to seven. Jason Terry hit a wide-open 3 with 13 seconds left in the third that cut the lead to 84-81.
The Wizards grabbed the opening tip and raced out to 21-point lead.
Morris hit a 3 that started a 14-0 run before Giannis Antetokounmpo drove the lane with four minutes gone for the Bucks' first points in seven trips. Beal pushed the lead to 26-5 with a running layup off a pass from Tomás Satoranský. Kelly Oubre Jr.'s layup made it 40-20 just before the end of the quarter.
Tip-ins
Wizards: The Wizards were 16 for 24 (66.7 percent) from the field in the first quarter. . The Wizards had 52 points in the paint to Milwaukee's 40.
Bucks: The Wizard's 40 points in the first quarter were the most the Bucks have allowed in that period this season. . Hall of Fame center and former Buck Kareem Abdul Jabbar, seated courtside, received a nice round of applause when he was introduced.
Up next
Wizards: Host Golden State on Wednesday.
Bucks: Visit Detroit on Wednesday.