MEMPHIS — The letter “e” on Beale Street was beginning to fade on one of the signs near the Washington Wizards’ team hotel, to the point that it simply read “Beal” in the right lighting. Bradley Beal can’t rename Memphis’s most famous tourist attraction, but in his first NBA game in the city, the second-year shooting guard did his best to claim ownership of FedEx Forum.
On a night when the Wizards got little production from all-star John Wall, and Marcin Gortat and Trevor Ariza were both slow to get engaged, Beal carried the Wizards with a startling shooting display, burying jumpers from almost every corner and even attacking the basket. Beal scored a career-high 37 points and Coach Randy Wittman decided to ride him beyond his usual 34 minutes. But as his playing time was extended, his shots stopped falling and the Wizards eventually lost to Memphis, 92-89.
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The Wizards (25-26) had won eight of their previous 11 games away from Verizon Center but they hadn’t won in Memphis since Nov. 3, 2004 — the day the arena opened. Nick Calathes, filling in for the injured Mike Conley, and Marc Gasol each scored 18 points to lead the Grizzlies to their ninth straight home win over the Wizards.
The Grizzlies led 64-48 in the third quarter but Washington rallied to take an 82-80 lead when Nene made a fadeaway jumper from the foul line. The Grizzlies scored the next seven points. Calathes made a layup and converted a three-point play, then Zach Randolph made two free throws. Beal responded with a jumper to bring the Wizards within 87-84, but he didn’t make another field goal the rest of the game.
The Wizards had their chances to tie in the final moments, but Beal missed a jumper before Randolph made 1 of 2 free throws, leaving Washington down three with one final possession.
But the Wizards were unable to get the ball to Beal, with the Grizzlies blanketing him, and that left it up to Wall to take the tying three-pointer – an off-balanced runner that bounced off the rim, securing the win for Memphis (28-23).
Wall scored a season-low five points, going just 2 of 10 from the floor and 0 for 4 from long distance.
After defeating the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, the Wizards claimed they were upset about only being even after 50 games and wanted to prove that they were better than average with two games left before the all-star break. But when they stepped on the court against the Grizzlies, the Wizards looked like they were already on vacation in the first half.
Gortat committed three fouls and went scoreless in the first half, while Wall and Ariza combined to score just four points in the first two periods. Ariza and Gortat eventually came back to both score 10 points in the second half, but the Wizards only got 10 points from the bench.
Memphis was without regular starters Conley and Tony Allen, which should’ve presented favorable matchups for Wall and Beal. But only Beal took advantage.
Wall had scored a career-high 47 points when he faced the Grizzlies on March 25 but had a hard time keeping up with Conley’s replacement, Calathes, with Memphis center Gasol constantly setting screens for him. Wall didn’t make his first field goal until hitting a short runner to bring the Wizards within 46-37 and he finished with just five points. Aside from a two-minute stretch in the third period, when he fed Gortat for two layups, Nene for a dunk and Ariza for a three-pointer, Wall also came up short as a playmaker, totaling just five assists to go with four turnovers.
Grizzlies reserve James Johnson scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half, providing a lift for his team when he drove down the lane and threw down a reverse dunk in the lane. Johnson also influenced the game on the defensive end. Ariza tried to sneak in a three-pointer just before the first half ended, but Johnson slapped the ball out of bounds to make sure that Memphis went into the locker room leading 52-37.
The Wizards will attempt to enter the all-star break at .500 when they take on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
