The Washington Wizards got a win over the visiting Toronto Raptors Thursday night, but not without some scare during the closing seconds. Bradley Beal, the Wizards’ lone star now that backcourt partner, John Wall, is out with an injury, committed an untimely error that would have been costly.
The Wizards were in a comfortable position. Off a timeout, they had the ball and were up by two with only 4.1 seconds left. All they needed to do was secure the possession and wait for the Raptors to foul.
Even if they split or miss both free throw shots, it’s still a safe situation when you consider how little time is remaining. Again, ball security is all they needed to do.
However, holding on to the ball is not what they did. As Otto Porter threw an inbound pass, the ball slipped out of Beal’s hand and went straight to Raptors guard, Kyle Lowry, who was on the half-court line, ready to push the ball to tie the game.
Thankfully, though, two things went the Wizards' way: Beal fouled Lowry before any progress was made and Lowry only went 1-for-2 from the line. It became a free throw game at that point, and the Wizards went on to win, 122-119.
The costly turnover would have ruined Bradley Beal's good performance. He had a team-high 27 points and tallied a complete stat line, recording six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block.
With the victory, the Wizards are now winners of three straight. They sport a 29-22 record, tying themselves with the Miami Heat for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
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