Bradley Beal had 26 points and seven assists and the visiting Washington Wizards rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-114 on Saturday night.
Kyle Kuzma added 22 points and nine rebounds and Washington snapped a five-game losing streak in Dallas. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 as six Wizards reached double figures.
Luka Doncic of Dallas led all scorers with 33 points and had 10 assists. Trey Burke scored 14 points and Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Wizards shot 57.7 percent (45 of 78) from the field and the Mavericks hit 47.2 percent (42 of 89). The Wizards won the rebounding battle 43-35.
Kuzma’s 3-pointer after Daniel Gafford’s offensive rebound gave the Wizards a 112-109 lead with 1:34 remaining. After Doncic missed a 3, Washington’s Deni Avdija missed a 3-pointer of his own but Gafford grabbed the rebound for a put-back dunk.
Tim Hardaway hit a 3 with 49 seconds left to pull Dallas within 114-112 but Caldwell-Pope hit a jumper at the other end 20 seconds later. Doncic hit a fadeaway jumper, but Caldwell-Pope made two free throws with 10.5 seconds remaining and Doncic missed a 3 before Kuzma ended it with two free throws.
The Wizards trailed 69-61 at halftime but chipped away in the third quarter and took a 77-76 lead on Kuzma’s 3-pointer with 6:23 left in the frame.
Reggie Bullock’s 3-pointer late in the quarter put the Mavericks up 93-91 heading into the fourth quarter. Burke’s 3-pointer made it 97-91 early in the fourth, but Kuzma’s 3-pointer tied it at 99 with less than nine minutes to play and Corey Kispert’s layup put the Wizards up 101-99 with 8:18 to go.
The Wizards led early and took their biggest lead, 26-19, on Beal’s layup with 4:37 left in the first quarter.
Porzingis tied the score 47-47 with a hook shot and Sterling Brown’s jumper gave Dallas the lead with 7:15 left in the second quarter.
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The Mavericks pushed their lead to seven before Washington rallied within 58-57, but Doncic hit a jumper and Dallas scored seven straight points to take its biggest lead.
The Wizards were without Spencer Dinwiddie, who sat out after playing Friday night.
–Field Level Media