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[av_heading heading=’Wizards survives Grizzlies, 102-100′ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The Washington Wizards’ 15-point lead in the fourth quarter was enough to claim their fourth straight victory.
Barely enough.
The Wizards weathered a late rally by Memphis to escape with a 102-100 win on Friday night. Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 34 points, while fellow guard John Wall added 25 points and nine assists.
“We stopped being aggressive, and I think we kind of slowed the pace down instead of pushing it,” Beal said of allowing Memphis to get back into the game.
He added: “We settled for some tough shots, a lot of contested ones down the stretch versus getting out in transition and continuing to play the same way we had played the whole game.”
That change of pace for Washington came following an advantage that reached 17 in the third quarter and was still sitting at 15 with just under 9 minutes left.
But Memphis used eight straight points to cut the deficit to seven points, then later crafted a 10-1 rally to pull within 98-97 on Tyreke Evans’ 3-pointer with 18 seconds left.
Meanwhile, the Wizards made only 2 of 16 shots in the fourth.
But Memphis couldn’t overtake the Wizards the rest of the way, and a pair of free throws by Markieff Morris with 3 seconds remaining provided enough cushion for Washington to escape.
Morris finished with 12 points and matched his career high with 17 rebounds.
“We’ve got to stop digging holes,” Grizzlies interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You’ve got to give the guys a ton of credit for continuing to fight and continuing to battle back. But we have to correct the errors that put us in those holes. We shouldn’t be down 15 at any point.”
Evans led Memphis with 26 points, while Marc Gasol finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Mario Chalmers had 13 points.
Despite Wall and Beal combining to connect on 17 of 34 shots, Washington still shot 39 percent for the game.
“To win on the road shooting 39 percent means we played the defense it takes to win,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. (AP)
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