NBA Top Five Performances, Feb. 16: Washington Wizards Rallied Behind Bradley Beal’s 35-Point Performance

TOP PLAYERS OF THE DAY

The Washington Wizards looked like they were headed for defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves after a 20-point deficit in the first quarter.

It ended up being one of their most memorable victories of the season. Bradley Beal led the Wizards’ comeback Thursday night with 35 points, including 13 in the last five minutes of the game.

Wizards center Kristaps Porzingis said this was arguably the team’s best performance of the year.

“Probably this is the best game for me this season so far,” Porzingis said. “Because of how we showed our heart, we stayed in the game, we kept playing. Some guys were already like checked out a little bit. We locked back in and we pulled it out of somewhere.”

This victory marked the team’s 10th in the last 14 games, with Washington holding on to 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

OTHERS

- Despite the loss to the Wizards, Anthony Edwards had a solid 34-point performance to go along with five rebounds and three steals.

- Paul George had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists in the Los Angeles Clippers’ win against the Phoenix Suns. George had 10 fourth-quarter points to bring the Clippers within one game of the Sacramento Kings for the conference standings.

- Clippers shooting guard Terrace Mann also had 26 points in the win over Phoenix, nearly topping his season high. Mann is having his highest-scoring month of the season.

- In the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez had 33 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in the Milwaukee Bucks’ win over the Chicago Bulls.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.