NBA wrap: Bucks, Wizards make moves in East with fourth straight wins

Bucks, Wizards win fourth straight games to move up in East.

Washington Wizards guard John Wall (right) drives the ball around Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson during the first half.

The Wizards and Bucks further muddled the packed Eastern Conference Wednesday by each earning their fourth straight win.

John Wall scored 27 points, and Bradley Beal added 26 points to lead the Wizards (9-5) past the Heat 102-93. Washington outscored Miami 30-19 in the first quarter, and then iced the game with a 31-19 fourth quarter. 

The Bucks earned its fourth straight win by upending the equally red-hot Pistons, 99-95. All five Bucks starters scored double-figures, with MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo finishing with 21 points and six rebounds.

Washington Wizards, currently second in the Eastern Conference in scoring, averaging 110.7 points per game, feature five players averaging at least 11 points per game. 

The Celtics remains the class of the East, but the Bucks and Wizards are both capable of making noise in the playoffs this year with the Cavaliers struggling and the Celtics unproven with this group.

Studs of the Night

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns scored 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 16 rebounds in a 98-86 win over the Spurs. Towns now has four straight double-doubles, while leading Minnesota (9-5) to seven wins in its last nine games.

Sixers big man Joel Embiid had a monster game in a win over the Lakers. Embiid finished with a career-high 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and a career-best seven blocks. 

Duds of the Night

The Kings: Falling to 1-8 on the road this season, Sacramento was defeated 126-80 Wednesday night by the Hawks. Zach Randolph scored 16 points to lead the Kings, but they shot just 35.2 percent from the field and 21.6 percent from 3-point range. The Kings has now lost 10 of its last 12 games.

The Bulls: No, the box score didn't have a typo, Chicago scored just seven points in the first quarter, leading to an ugly 92-79 loss to the Thunder. The Bulls shot just 34.7 percent from the field, falling to 2-10.

Highlight

LeBron James with a steal and an emphatic slam:

Interception and SLAM by LeBron James!@cavs looking to close out on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/6TVpxFQwm4

— NBA (@NBA) November 16, 2017

 

James scored 31 points with eight assists and six rebounds leading the Cavaliers (8-7) to a 115-107 win over the Hornets (5-8).