National Basketball Association
Washington 131, Phoenix 127
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #11 Derrick Collins, #31 Scott Wall
Attendance: 16372

PHOENIX -- The Washington Wizards are winning a lot of basketball games right now. Even the games they virtually have to win twice.

John Wall had 25 points and 14 assists, but the Wizards gave back a 22-point, first-half lead and had to rally from 11 down in the second half to finish off the Phoenix Suns 131-127 on Tuesday.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points, and Bradley Beal added 15 of his 27 points in the first quarter for the Wizards, who won for the 15th time in 19 games.

Washington (38-24) has its best 62-game record since starting 43-19 in the 1978-79 season, the last time the Wizards reached the NBA Finals.

But they almost let this one get away.

"We got way too comfortable and got out of our concepts on both ends of the floor," Beal said. "We didn't respect them, and they showed us they can play. We made it difficult on ourselves, but we did a good job of retaliating and getting a stop when we needed to."

Eric Bledsoe scored 30 points and Devin Booker 25 for Phoenix (21-43). The Suns saw their season-high win streak end at three, but not before outscoring Washington 47-14 over a 12-minute span of the second and third quarters to turn a 56-34 deficit into an 81-70 lead.

But the Wizards kept coming, taking back the lead for good with a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter, starting with a Bogdanovic 3-pointer with 4:56 left and ending with a Wall layup that made it 122-112 with 2:50 to go. The Suns got back within 129-127 on a Booker 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left but no closer.

"That was a crazy basketball game. It was wild, like an old (American Basketball Association) game," Washington coach Scott Brooks said. "I'm glad we ended up with the last run. Give them credit for never giving in, which we knew they wouldn't. And give our guys credit for doing what it takes to win a tough game."

Washington shot 53 free throws, the most in any NBA game this season, and made 42. Phoenix finished 26 of 33 at the line. The Suns countered with a 53-26 edge in fastbreak points but committed 32 fouls. Phoenix's Marquese Chriss and Alan Williams fouled out.

"I've played many strange games in Europe, but this one was really strange," said Bogdanovic, who made all 16 of his free throws to set a franchise record for the most without a miss in a game.

Beal led the Wizards on a 21-4 run in the first quarter, and Washington led by as many as 14.

Tempers flared in the second quarter when Washington forward Jason Smith sent Phoenix guard Tyler Ulis to the ground with a hard pick. The Suns' Jared Dudley and the Wizards' Brandon Jennings were ejected in the altercation that followed.

Washington reeled off another 15-5 immediately. However, the Suns scored the next 10 points, and Bledsoe had 13 points during a 27-7 run, capped by two Williams free throws with 1:37 left to cut the Washington lead to 62-61.

"We know they try to make things chippy, and we fell for the bait a little bit," Beal said. "For a while, we were playing football instead of basketball. We started running our mouths a little bit, pushing and fighting, and that's when they went on their run and kind of buzzed us a little bit."

Washington led 68-61 at the half, but the Suns outscored Washington 20-2 to open the third quarter. TJ Warren had nine during the run, and his 3-pointer with 7:23 left gave the Suns their biggest lead of 11 points.

"We've got a lot of fight in this team," Bledsoe said. "We are young, but we scrap and fight. We never give up no matter the consequences."

The Wizards answered with a 22-4 run of their own, moving back ahead by seven on a Bogdanovic 3-pointer with 1:22 left in the third. The Suns finished strong to trail 94-92 after three and led by as many as three with eight minutes left before Washington responded one final time.

"Even with the (19) turnovers, an ejection and two guys fouling out, we still had a chance to win," Phoenix coach Earl Watson said.

NOTES: The Suns were looking for their first four-game winning streak since March 15-22, 2015. ... Three of Phoenix's 21 wins this season have come on jumpers at the buzzer, all three made by former University of Kentucky guards. The latest came Sunday when Tyler Ulis beat the Boston Celtics 109-106. Eric Bledsoe beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-115 on Nov. 2, and Devin Booker banked in a shot to beat the Sacramento Kings 105-103 on Feb. 3. Before this season, the Suns had three buzzer-beater wins in the previous 15 seasons combined. ... The Wizards took the series lead 62-61. ... The Wizards are 32-12 since Dec. 5. Only the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have more wins over that span.
Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Phoenix
Bojan Bogdanovic 29 Scoring Eric Bledsoe 30
John Wall 14 Assists Devin Booker 6
Bojan Bogdanovic 9 Rebounds Alex Len 11
Bojan Bogdanovic 16 Free Throws Made Eric Bledsoe 8
Ian Mahinmi 7 Steals Leandro Barbosa 1
John Wall 2 Blocks Alex Len 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 131 45.6 7-18 42-53 19 44 4 15 11
Phoenix 127 50.0 13-27 26-33 23 49 8 5 19
Upcoming Games
  • Phoenix will play their next game at home against L.A. Lakers. The Suns have a W/L % of .227 after a win and .381 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Wizards have a W/L % of .579 after a win and .667 after a loss.