Bradley Beal nails game-winning buzzer-beater as Washington downs Orlando (Video)
Bradley Beal did not have his flashiest game on Wednesday. He primarily stayed in the background as his Washington Wizards took on the Orlando Magic, watching as John Wall (21 points, 11 assists) continued his fantastic season, stepping aside while Nene (12 points off the pine) attempted to find his sea legs after a game spent resting on the bench.
With less than a second left in the team’s contest with the Magic, however, Wizards coach Randy Wittman went right to his young scoring guard with a killer guard around screen that ended Orlando’s attempts to send the game into overtime. Watch:
Wittman is, to be kind, not known for drawing up the sorts of efficient plays that tend to dominate the modern NBA’s best team’s playbook. With that in place, this was a fantastic call and the Wizards will remain tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the Eastern Conference’s second best record. The 15-6 Wizards are rolling, while the rebuilding Magic lost out on a chance to perhaps tie Brooklyn for the final seed in the (admittedly terrible) Eastern playoff bracket.
Magic coach Jacque Vaughn has to be kicking himself for not zoning one defender at the front of the rim, especially with Andre Miller (perhaps the best lob passer in NBA history) in-bounding the ball for Washington. With less than a second left, dribble options are out, and even catch and shoot moves would be heavily scrutinized by the referees and the league’s high definition play review. Miracles could happen, of course, but there was no reason for the Magic to switch on all screens or overplay on denying an entry pass into a shooter some 20 feet from the rim.
Even if Randy Wittman does call way, way too many plays for players shooting 20 feet from the rim.
Beal finished with just nine points in the win, but the Wizards are more than pleased with his contribution in the 91-89 victory.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
