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Wizards vs. Magic final score: Washington loses second straight, 130-120

The Wizards saw Bradley Beal score 39 points and Russell Westbrook got another triple double. But Washington’s free throw shooting was poor and they also blew another fourth quarter lead.

By Albert Lee
Orlando Magic v Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal continued scoring at a high rate, but it wasn’t enough for the Washington Wizards.
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

The Washington Wizards (0-2) lost to the Orlando Magic (2-0), 130-120 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

Washington was swept 4-0 by Orlando in their regular season matches last season and it doesn’t appear to be much different this year.

The big stats of the day? Free throws and the fourth quarter.

The Wizards went 15-of-28 from the line while Orlando was 23-of-29. While those margins weren’t enough to change the game outcome, it still played a major part nevertheless. In addition, the Wizards had a bad fourth quarter, letting the Magic win, 39-28 in that period. Yes, the Wizards started the fourth quarter with a lead!

As you might have expected, the Wizards’ starting backcourt of Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook continued to put up big numbers. Beal scored 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting and looked like he was in midseason form.

As for Westbrook, he had his second triple double of the season, scoring 15 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing 12 assists. However, he also shot 6-of-19 from the field and missed all four of his three-point attempts. Not good.

I think there were some bright spots despite the loss. Raul Neto scored 11 points in just nine minutes in the first half which helped keep Washington in it or this game may have been a straight up blow out. And yet ... he didn’t play in the third quarter and Head Coach Scott Brooks had some interesting responses as to why....

Thomas Bryant scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. But, he dunked on the wrong hoop.......

And Deni Avdija has quietly kept his shooting percentage at 100 percent (2-of-2 for 5 points) while also not trying to do too much. Oh wait, he got in early foul trouble. But at least he kept his shooting percentage up!

As for the Magic, Nikola Vucevic led their scorers with 22 points, 17 rebounds and 3 assists. Markelle Fultz added 21 more.

It’s frustrating to see the Wizards lose again where there are some positives, but their losses are happening in very similar ways. They blew fourth quarter leads and let the opposition do whatever they want....

The Wizards will be back in action tomorrow night for another match. against Orlando at 7 p.m. ET. The Wizards’ chances of winning tomorrow? Not good.

For us as fans, I guess it’s making my prediction look more likely and sports bookies feel more giddy about some needed coaching changes before this losing streak puts this season out of reach.

See you tomorrow.