John Wall had game-highs of 26 points, seven assists, and five steals while Bradley Beal added 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a game-high four blocks, as the Washington Wizards snapped a five-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the New York Knicks.
John Wall & Bradley Beal combine for 48 PTS in the @WashWizards victory over NYK! #DCFamily pic.twitter.com/WTnCmcQ2Ri
— NBA (@NBA) November 5, 2018
Here’s five takeaways on how the Wizards’ got the win:
1. Scott Brooks Simplifies Rotation
Otto Porter did not play as he is dealing with a toe injury. That allowed Wizards head coach Scott Brooks to get creative with the rotation. However, he simplified the rotation scaling it drastically down. In essence he relied on a seven-man rotation for much of the game. In fact, he leaned on starters Dwight Howard and Wall to play the entire first quarter while he sprinkled in reserves into the lineup.
The byproduct was a more focus secondary lineup that for much of the night kept the game in control. Austin Rivers and Jeff Green, the two newest additions to the team, were the biggest beneficiaries. Both played significant minutes with the starters instead of an all-bench lineup.
Green had 14 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes. And he appeared much more engaged on the defensive end. Rivers had five points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. He also had a plus-12 rating as he was tasked with guarding the wing. Both played down the stretch in the fourth quarter and were integral to the Wizards’ closing out the win by outscoring the Knicks 27-17 in the fourth quarter.
The biggest loser in the new mix of rotation, Ian Mahinmi. The reserve center was the lone active player to not play a minute for the Wizards. His number wasn’t even called when the Brooks cleared the bench with the victory in tow. Jason Smith even got clock over Mahinmi, playing a crucial five minutes in the second half to give Howard a breather.
In turn, Beal played 40 minutes, Wall 38, Howard and Markieff Morris each played 31 minutes. Kelly Oubre, who started the game as Porter’s replacement played 24 minutes.
2. Wizards Battled on Glass
The Wizards still gave up 15 offensive rebounds and 51 total boards, but they also countered with 15 offensive boards of their own and 47 in all, which was about eight above their season average. Howard became just the second Wizards player this season to get 10 rebounds. With Green’s nine and Beal’s eight, there was a clear effort on the glass. That limited the second chance points opportunities of the Knicks and got the Wizards’ offensive pace going.
3. Defensive Energy Was Much Improved
Yes, it was the Knicks but that does not change the fact of the matter that the Wizards’ defensive energy was ignited. They were engaged. As a result they held an opponent to less than 100 points for the first time this season. They also were great on their switch defense and backside protection behind the guards.
The Knicks shot just 18.5 percent from three point range. That’s a far cry 40.5 percent the Wizards had been giving up before Sunday’s game.
Their defensive intensity was felt from the onset of the game, as Oubre picked off a pass from Tim Hardaway Jr. on the first possession of the game that led to a transition bucket from Beal.
Washington forced 20 Knicks’ turnovers and scored 22 points of those turnovers. Their defense allowed them to close off a late-game rally from New York and led the Wizards pulling away from a tied game in the fourth quarter to winning by 13 points. The Knicks never led in the game.
4. Wizards Still Struggling to Shoot Three but They Adjusted Well
The Wizards were better defensively against the three, but shooting the three is still a struggle. Washington was 6-of-26 from downtown for 23.1 percent. That number could have been worse if not for Wall making 3-of-6 of his threes. Bradley Beal was uncharacteristically 1-of- 7 from deep.
What was a positive was seeing them cut down the attempts — they were averaging 34.8 three attempts per game, a byproduct of them buying into the new analytical approach of the NBA. However, with the shots not falling the Wizards resorted to driving on closeouts for closer shots against New York. That keep the points coming and kept the Knicks off balance defensively.
Washington didn’t settle for long shots. They attacked off the dribble whether off screens or after closeouts. That aggression led to them having 39 free throws attempts, making 30. It’s attitude and awareness that they’ll have to be more consistent with. Understandably, they like to get off three-point shots, however, when the shots not falling they’ll need to adjust as they did against the Knicks.
5. Wall Closed out the Win
Wall cut down his turnover clip to four. He also controlled the pace of the game, especially in the fourth quarter. Brooks turned to his six-time All-Star with over 10 minutes remaining. Wall proved the decision to be wise, as he ignited the Wizards down the stretch to stave off the Knicks’ rally.
Wall had seven points and two assists in the final quarter, leading to him being a plus-13 in the final 8:53 he played in the final frame. His efforts was highlighted by a beautiful layup off a crossover of Knicks’ center Enes Kanter.
Rookie Allonzo Trier, who did his best to be a thorn in Wall’s side on both ends of the floor — both players received double technical fouls in the third quarter — said Wall “did what he had to do to take over the game.”
