Bradley Beal led the Washington Wizards with 25 points, five rebounds and four assists as they went on to blowout the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the second round of the play-in tournament, with the Wizards officially clinching their first playoff appearance since 2018. Russell Westbrook added 18 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds.
The Wizards and Pacers were tied up at 34 with 10:22 left in the second quarter, but from that point on, the Wizards pulled away with a 16-0 run led by six points from Robin Lopez. Lopez was out on the floor for just six minutes in this one, but his nine points on the night came at the right time, as the Pacers were never able to get back into this game.
With Westbrook and the Wizards’ supporting cast stepping up to help build their lead to nearly 15 in the first half, that allowed Beal to deliver the knockout punch in the third, as Beal turned it on for 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the period and looked much more comfortable as he is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
“This is probably one of the best games we’ve played all year,” Beal said. “It was definitely the most important one.”
Daniel Gafford provided a huge boost for the Wizards off the bench, putting up 15 points and 13 rebounds, and he also blocked five shots, with four of them coming in the Wizards’ huge second quarter.
“I was overwhelmed with a lot of emotion after the game,” Gafford said. “I had to keep it together… this is the best situation for me.”
Gafford has been an absolutely great pickup for the Wizards, as he can easily be one of their energy guys on this team for many years to come.
The Wizards overcame many odds to get to the playoffs, as they were a season-high 15 games under .500 on April 5th, a COVID-19 outbreak within the organization caused them to miss two weeks worth of play in January, and injuries to several guys including Westbrook and Beal. Despite all of this, Westbrook has gone out there with a no-quit attitude and inspired confidence in his teammates all season long.
“I love the guy to death,” head coach Scott Brooks said.
The Wizards will be facing off against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, as they are going to have to fight hard on every possession in that series in order to beat the top-seeded team in the East.
