Last night the Washington Wizards were embarrassed by the conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers on national television. On the second end of a back-to-back, the DC franchise was hoping to get back on track with an important matchup with the Indiana Pacers, the conference’s current seven seed. Randy Wittman understands the importance of the game because it is a four game swing when taking into account that the winner gets the season tiebreak. Following Bradley Beal starting in the second half against the Cavs, the Florida product was back in the starting lineup for the first time since February 11th.
As if it was a bad omen, Bradley Beal left the game in the third quarter with a sprained pelvis. The offense was never the same as Washington scored 35 points in the entire second half after dropping 37 in the first quarter alone. Paul George had 38 points on just 22 shot attempts and won the game at the free throw line, where the Wizards evidently lost it with 15 of 24 shooting from the charity stripe. In a game that was going to have a big effect on the Wizards playoff chances, they fell 100-99 in heartbreak fashion. [Read more…]