Russell Westbrook recorded his 23rd triple-double of the season and Bradley Beal added 34 points and five assists, as the Washington Wizards stun the Utah Jazz 125-121. The Wizards’ upset win snaps the Jazz’s 24-game home win streak.
The Jazz last lost at Vivint Arena on Dec. 31 to the Phoenix Suns. Since, they had went on an impressive streak of 24 straight wins before the woeful Wizards shocked them Monday night.
Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 42 points on 14-of-32 shooting. Meanwhile, former Wizard Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 33 points on 10-of-18 shooting against his former team. However, it wasn’t enough.
Westbrook led the Wizards’ charge with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. More importantly, he was able to limit his turnovers to three.
Turnovers proved to be integral. Washington scored 20 points off Utah’s 14 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Wizards had eight, leaving the Jazz to just nine points off turnovers.
Washington built a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at 109-90. Still, the Jazz fought back and closed the gap to four at 119-115. Yet, it was Westbrook who responded with a pull-up jumper just outside the elbow to extend the Wizards’ lead to 121-115 with 32.1 seconds remaining.
The Jazz remained in the game after Mitchell’s runner cut the deficit to 121-119 with 12.3 seconds after Beal missed a pair of free throws. However, the NBA’s leading scorer redeemed himself knocking down a pair to seal the win.
Despite being a disappointing 20-33 on the season, the Wizards have found success against the Western Conference. The win completes the season series sweep of the Jazz, who possess the NBA’s best record at 40-14. The Wizards are 12-10 against the West, but are 8-23 against its East counterparts.
