The Washington Wizards were able to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 111-100 on the road after playing the night before against Cleveland. Washington is now 4-0 on the second game of back-to-backs.
When the Wizards lost Trevor Ariza to Houston in costless agency, this is what they envisioned from Paul Pierce when they signed the future Hall of Famer. Pierce led the Wizards in scoring with 25 points and added 10 rebounds. He went 8-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-5 from the three-point line. Washington came out sluggish, but Pierce was a constant force offensively that kept his team in the game until everyone else found a rhythm.
The Milwaukee Bucks came out of the gates with energy, as they tried to get the bad taste out of their mouth from the night before, where they lost by 42 points to the Toronto Raptors. Milwaukee was able to get a 15-point lead in the first half. They led by five at halftime. The biggest reason for their strong start was their ability to force turnovers; the Wizards turned the ball over 12 times in the first half.
Brandon Knight and Giannis Antetokunmpo led the way for the Bucks. Knight finished the game with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while Antetokunmpo added 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
John Wall didn’t have his best shooting night, but he finished with 19 points and nine assists. However, the one thing Wall did to get his team over the top was the five steals he recorded, including a steal on the inbounds pass with 1:11 left in the fourth quarter. Bradley Beal came off the bench once again and scored 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.
Even with the slow start, the Wizards were able to out-rebound the Bucks 53 to 36, and they shared the ball as a team, as they recorded 27 assists. Washington’s bench was spectacular once again, as Kris Humphries added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Andre Miller and Rasual Butler both scored eight points apiece. Bradley Beal inflates the bench scoring, but they combined to score 54 points off the bench.
Even with the win, Washington suffered a scare as starting power forward Nene had to leave with six minutes remaining in the first quarter with a right foot injury. The diagnosis is a right plantar fascia which is something the veteran big man has experienced before. Hopefully, it’s not too serious, but the Wizards have plenty of depth in the frontcourt to pick up the slack.
The Washington Wizards will head home to face the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night. The Milwaukee Bucks will stay home to face the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night.