Recap: Beal and Westbrook combine for 71, Wizards fall 125-124 in Dallas

DALLAS, TX – MAY 1: Russell Westbrook #4 of the Washington Wizards dribbles the ball during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on May 1, 2021 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images

FINAL: Wizards 124 | Mavericks 125

BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS

SCORING LEADERS

Wizards: Russell Westbrook (42), Bradley Beal (29), Rui Hachimura (18)

Mavericks: Luka Doncic (31), Dorian Finney-Smith (22), Maxi Kleber (17)

SUMMARY

Despite 42 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists from Russell Westbrook, the Wizards fell to the Mavericks 125-124 on Saturday night in the second game of a road back-to-back. Bradley Beal became the fourth player in franchise history to play 600 games with the team and finished the night with 29 points.

The Mavericks wasted no time building an early lead, riding a 19-5 run in the first five minutes of the game to a 12-point advantage after one quarter. Luka Doncic’s ability to get into the paint not only created points at the rim, but helped Dallas continuously find open 3-pointers. As a team, the Mavericks shot 6-10 (.600) from deep in the first quarter, led by Maxi Kleber, who knocked down all three of his triples. After picking up a pair of fouls in the first four minutes of the game, Beal remained in the game and led the Wizards with six first quarter points. Dallas stayed hot from deep in the second quarter, hitting their first three attempts from beyond the arc to improve to 9-13 (.692) on the night. The Mavericks led by as many as 18 points – and were up 16 with 3:38 left in the first half before Washington went on a 12-1 run to pull within five in the final minute of the second quarter. Westbrook totaled six points and two assists in just over two minutes to lead Washington’s resurgence.

The Wizards were dominant in the third quarter, shooting 13-22 (.591) from the field and turning a seven-point deficit in the opening minutes of the half to an eight-point lead heading into the fourth. Washington owned the paint, scoring 22 of its 32 points around the rim and holding Dallas to 10 such points. The Mavericks, however, took back momentum in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 105 apiece with an 8-2 run. Minutes later, with the game tied at 111, Daniel Gafford kept it that way with a highlight-reel block on a driving baseline dunk attempt by Dorian Finney-Smith. Dallas and Washington traded big shot after big shot in the game’s closing minutes. There were eight ties or lead changes in the final 5:03 of the fourth quarter, capped off by a 3-pointer from Finney-Smith in the final 10 seconds to give the Mavericks the win.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

Westbrook extends double-double streak, just barely misses triple-double

Coming off an April in which he averaged 21.1 points, 13.3 rebounds and 12.0 assists, Westbrook opened the month of May with one of his best performances of the season. With 42 points 10 rebounds and nine assists, Westbrook fell just short of extending his three-game triple-double streak, but tied his season high in scoring and extended his NBA-best double-double streak to 28 games. The 28 consecutive double-doubles also mark the longest streak of his career. Westbrook now has three games this season with 40-plus points and eight with 30-plus. After sub-20-point performances in three of his last four outings, Westbrook put scoring first on Saturday night. He did most of his damage in the second quarter, scoring 18 points on 7-9 (.777) shooting and hit the 30-point mark with 8:33 left in the third quarter on a transition layup off a Raul Neto steal.

With eight games left in the regular season, Westbrook remains at 177 career triple-doubles, five away from breaking Oscar Robertson’s all-time record.

Neto continues to contribute in starting role

Despite a single-digit scoring performance, Neto continues to make a difference for the Wizards since moving into the starting lineup on April 19. Neto entered the game averaging 11.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in that time and finished with a positive plus-minus in all but one of those seven games. Against the Mavericks, Neto finished plus-12 in 29 minutes and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to go along with eight points and four assists.

Doncic puts up big numbers to lead Mavs

Doncic’s big night drove Dallas’ performance from start to finish, totaling 31 points, 12 rebounds and 20 assists, becoming the first Wizards opponent to register 20-plus assists in a game since 2010. The versatile facilitator scored or assisted on each of the team’s first seven field goals, finishing the first quarter with 13 points, four rebounds and six assists. He shot 12-23 (.521) overall and 11-17 (.647) inside the arc. Doncic registered a points-assists double-double with 3:38 left in the first half and sealed his triple-double with a rebound early in the fourth.

NEXT UP: Pacers at Wizards / Monday, May 3 / 7:00 P.M. / Capital One Arena

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT