Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal exited Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second quarter with left hamstring soreness. It was the third game in a month that he left a game with a hamstring injury.
Beal has missed nine games since Dec. 4 due to a right hamstring strain at first and then a left hamstring injury. Tuesday was his return after missing three games, dealing with the left hamstring.
The Wizards lost to the Bucks 123-113, snapping Washington’s five-game win streak. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 55 points with ten rebounds and seven assists to lead Milwaukee to victory.
Bradley Beal said he felt his hamstring tighten as he checked back in the game with 6:54 remaining in the second quarter, per Ava Wallace of the Washington Post. He couldn’t accelerate as usual.
“It’s tough,” Beal stated after the loss. “I always preach your best ability is your availability, and I haven’t been that. It’s tough because we’re playing good ball. I want to be a part of that. I want to help the team win, continue to build on what we have going, our momentum.”
Beal has missed 15 games in total this season. Washington, who has a 17-22 record, is just 7-8 in games without Beal. But the Wizards have recently caught fire. They won six of seven games before the loss to Milwaukee.
Beal entered Tuesday as the Wizards’ leading scorer with 23.5 points per game. But Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis are averaging over 20 points each and have led the Wizards’ recent surge without Beal. Meanwhile, Rui Hachimura has emerged recently since returning from injury.
Beal wants to be out on the floor with his team. He is in the first year of a five-year, $251 million supermax deal. However, his struggles with injury have forced him to watch his team from the bench.
