Tomas Satoransky became the first Czech-born player in NBA history to collect a triple-double, as the Washington Wizards topped the Milwaukee Bucks 113-106.
Satoransky had 18 points and game-highs of 12 rebounds and 10 assists. It was his first career triple-double.
An alley hoop to Bradley Beal in the fourth quarter got Satoransky his 10th assists securing the triple-double. According to Satoransky, Markieff Morris was directing the team to find a way to get the point guard the milestone.
Beal said he was trying to set up the alley hoop late in the game once it was known Sato was one assist away.
After securing the pivotal win, his teammates mobbed him on the court. But that pails in comparison to the reaction once he got into the locker. Wizards teammates doused him with water in jubilation.
In the aftermath, a joyous Satoransky admitted he saw the water dousing coming but didn’t want to ruin the surprise.
Satoransky had struggled in back-to-back games against the Philadelphia 76ers, posting 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Friday against the Bucks, he was aggressive from the onset. His aggression helped lead the Wizards to a 40-point first quarter. He shot 7-of-10 from the field for the game. The seven made field goals is a season-high.
The win was Washington’s second straight, and second against a top-3 team in the Eastern Conference. The win was also their third in the last four games, and fourth straight at Capital One Arena.
Bucks head coach Mike sang praise towards Satoransky
2. Beal Remains Hot
Lost in the hoopla of Satoransky’s triple-double is the fact Beal had yet another magnificent performance leading the Wizards. Beal dropped a game-high 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from three. He added seven assists and five rebounds.
Friday’s performance was Beal’s ninth 30-point game of the season, second in a row. He continues to understand when to pass and get others involved while being aggressive and attacking.
It’s a shame he is being dogged by the fan vote, as he currently sits 10th among Eastern Conference guards for the NBA All-Star Game, however, there’s an argument that there is no guard playing at his level right now.
He has become the voice of the Wizards with John Wall out for the season with heel surgery, and while Washington has caught a few breaks with their schedule, it’s still impressive how Beal has tried to keep the team afloat with one-half of their dynamic backcourt out.
3. Wizards Had Best Game of the Year from Three
The Wizards entered Friday’s game as the third-worst three-point shooting team in the league. Against the Bucks, they played like the opposite, draining a season-high 18 treys, and shooting a season-high 54.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Trevor Ariza led the way making 6-of-12 threes, finishing with 20 points. Jeff Green made 4-of-7 and too finished with 20 points.
Washington was efficient in the three, getting out in transition and swinging the ball to create spacing. It helped that Satoransky and Beal were attacking, keeping the Bucks on their heels defensively.
For Ariza it was an efficiency long overdue. In his first 12 games with the Wizards since being traded from the Phoenix Suns, he shot 27.5 percent from three.
4. No Greek the Freak
As great as the headlines read the Wizards topping the Milwaukee Bucks, it would be remiss not to note MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo did not play due to a hip and quad injury.
Milwaukee is a pretty formidable team, and capable of winning without its best player. The Bucks are a pretty good team with depth outside of Antetokounmpo, but he is arguably one of the best five players in the NBA. However, that’s However, Washington has been on the right side of some scheduling breaks as of late. Friday was no different, but that’s beside the point, because a win is a win.
