After a tough loss on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, Bradley Beal and the rest of the Wizards squad bounced back well on Monday with a hard-fought win. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington triumphed over the Detroit Pistons 106-100 behind a record-setting night from BB.
Derrick Rose and the Pistons came to town in search of their third straight victory, but No. 3 and his teammates stepped up to hand Detroit the loss. Beal scored a game-high 29 points and dished out six assists during the game, while Ian Mahinmi added 21 points of his own in the matinee matchup.
In addition to his impressive scoring performance, the Panda climbed the Wizards’ record books in a couple categories on Monday afternoon, passing Wes Unseld on the Wizards’ all-time leading scorer’s list.
In the second quarter, Bradley knocked in a smooth turnaround jumper to tie Unseld’s career total before surpassing him in the record books early in the third quarter on a pull-up jumper to move into fourth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.
Bradley Beal has tied Wes Unseld for 4th on our all-time scoring list! pic.twitter.com/JoojIyX2Kb
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 20, 2020
BB spoke after the game on the significance of surpassing Wes Unseld on the scoring list, and he was honored to be mentioned in the same category as a legend like Unseld.
Beal to @cmillsnbcs on passing Wes Unseld for 4th on Wizards all-time scoring list: "I've been blessed to be here for all my career, so many great legends to come through here…to be a part of history…I never would have dreamed of that." #RepTheDistrict pic.twitter.com/VqjtzYp06d
— Hoop District (@HoopDistrictDC) January 20, 2020
However, Beal wasn’t done re-writing the Wizards’ record books on the night. Late in the third quarter, No. 3 tallied his sixth assist of the night and moved into a tie for sixth on the franchise’s all-time assists list with Gilbert Arenas (2,046).
Bradley wasn’t the only Wizards star to shine bright on MLK Day. Mahinmi turned in a strong performance from the opening tip. The game was Mahinmi’s second career 20-point performance, both of which have taken place this season. On December 30, Mahinmi scored 25 points on 10-11 (.909) shooting against the Heat. Mahinmi is now just the third player this season with multiple games shooting 90.0% or better on 10-plus field goal attempts, joining Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside, who have each done so twice as well.
Thomas Bryant was the only other player donning a DC uniform to score in double figures. He went 6-of-9 from the field including a deep ball to record 13 points off the bench.
Next up, the Wizards take on the Heat (30-13) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Miami before heading to Cleveland and Atlanta later in the week.
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