Bradley Beal drops 51 on Blazers
After struggling to find his shot over the past few games, Bradley Beal rediscovered his stroke and went off against the Portland Trailblazers. Beal was white hot from the field as he torched Portland for a career high 51 points.
Washington was still recovering from an utterly embarrassing 47 point loss at the hands of the undermanned Utah Jazz, but Beal’s big performance gave the Wizards the boost they needed to take a game on the road against a tough opponent. Although none of their starters had more than eight points, their star shooting guard carried the offense to victory, 106-92.
Beal not only drained a career high 21 field goals, he also set an NBA record for most points ever scored in Portland by an opposing player. His 51 points came in a variety of ways, but most impressive was his deadeye shooting 5-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
While Beal gave the Blazers a clinic on scoring, Damian Lillard did his best to match his offensive output. The Allstar floor general finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, but as impressive as his effort was, it just wasn’t enough.
If allowing a 50 point outing and losing to the Wizards minus superstar John Wall wasn’t enough, Portland took another blow midway through the final frame when center Jusuf Nurkic hobbled to the locker room after coming down awkwardly on his right ankle.
The Bosnian big man collected 15 points and nine rebounds before exiting the game prematurely due to injury. It was a sorry showing for Portland, but they finished the night with a silver lining after the team announced the X-rays on Nurkic’s ankle came back negative.
Bradley Beal claims the last time he scored 50 points, he was in high school. It’s unlikely he’ll explode for such a gaudy number again, but the Wizards will need him to continue to step his scoring up in the absence of franchise player John Wall.
