Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards seem to have found a bit of a groove.

One night after knocking off the Boston Celtics by double digits, the Wiz did the same to the visiting Houston Rockets, spoiling John Wall’s first trip back to D.C. since the trade, with a 131-119 victory over Houston. Bradley Beal poured in 37 points in the win on an outstanding 14-of-24 from the field. He added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in the victory.

 

The win marked just the second time this season Washington has won consecutive games.

“We did a good job of defending,” Brad said after the win. “Early on we let John attack a lot, and he got going early, but for the most part we did a good job of defending. Our intensity and focus was consistent with last game. Our carryover was the same. We were executing on offense, making shots, moving the ball, bodies weren’t stagnant. So it was a consistent game for us.”

Wall finished with 29 points himself, and 15 of those came in the first quarter, but the Wizards didn’t let the game get away from them and held a three-point halftime lead, despite allowing 69 first half points. The third quarter saw D.C. buckle down on defense and pull away. Brad scored 12 of his points in that quarter while Houston tallied just 20 as a team. After his first half outburst, Washington was able to limit Wall to just seven points in the second half which helped them close out the win. Afterward, No. 3 talked about the joy he took from competing against his long-time former teammate.

“We go at it. We compete. We guard each other, push each other,” Beal said of his former teammate Wall. “Even tonight, we’re pushing each other, telling each other to be better, guarding each other. It’s just competitive. That’s just who we are; that’s our nature. I think that’s what kinda pushed us to be who we are, who we both are today, and it’s a beautiful thing. So, I’m definitely looking forward to just competing against him for the rest of my career, as crazy as that may sound.”

 

For now, the Wizards turn their attention to Wednesday, when they host a tough Denver Nuggets team while aiming to build their first three-game win streak of the year. Brad feels that the energy around the Wizards is much better than it had been and it’s contagious.

“The energy that we have, once you start playing well as a team, you see a few shots go in, the rejuvenation is there. It’s just good to be able to see we’re playing the right way, and confidently.”

Tip-off from D.C. on Wednesday night is slated for 8 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on NBC Sports Washington.