The Washington Wizards jumped ahead with a high-scoring first quarter and ran over the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-95 Wednesday night at Capital One Arena.
Washington caught Cleveland on the second game of a back-to-back and controlled the game by making 13 3-pointers to Cleveland’s four. It also tied for the Wizards’ best defensive performance of the year.
It was the Wizards’ third straight win, pushing them to 5-9 after a 1-7 start to the year, though the result should come with a footnote that the Cavaliers (2-12) have been the dregs of the NBA for the first month of the season.
Then again, this was exactly the kind of game — some would call it a “trap game” — that the Wizards often lost a year ago.
“We had a few hiccups over the last season and start of this season, but it’s a professional win,” coach Scott Brooks said. “We came out and took care of business. They came off a big win last night on their home floor (and played) back-to-back. We played solid, we moved the ball, we weren’t hunting for shots. We just played the right way and that’s what you want as a coach.”
Bradley Beal led five Wizards in double figures with 20 points. Otto Porter Jr. added 15.
“It was great to be able to come out and get a lead and sustain it and maintain it throughout the game,” Beal said. “We still got a lot of work to do. We still got to get better. We’re still not content with where we are. Three in a row is good, but we still got a couple more at home we’ve got to take care of.”
The Wizards opened the game by scoring 40 points in a quarter for the first time this year. Porter, who had seen his minutes go down lately, made his first five shots on his way to an 11-point quarter — after three straight games of failing to score in double figures.
Washington capitalized off Cleveland’s seven turnovers and established a 41-29 lead. Beal later pointed to the defense as one of the reasons the Wizards scored more in the opening quarter.
Late in the second quarter, with the Wizards up by 20, center Ian Mahinmi sank the first 3-pointer of his 11-year NBA career. Up to that point, Mahinmi had attempted 10 threes in his career, but he’d made a point in the offseason and preseason to add a 3-point shot to his game.
“It felt good,” Mahinmi said. “Obviously I was looking for it. You guys see me after practice. It’s something that I work on. I’ve been working on threes, especially the corners. It good to finally see one go in.”
Mahinmi said John Wall talked to him right before the play, and Wall told him to get to the corner to set up the play. The Cavaliers left him alone on the left.
“I get to the corner, I get behind the line and I’m like, ’The ball comes my way, I’m shooting it,’” Mahinmi said.
The Cavaliers were down 73-52 at halftime but came back swinging. They penetrated Washington’s lead with a quick 8-0 run midway through the third, but Beal ended that run by hitting his third 3-pointer of the night.
It was no contest from that point on, and all 13 Wizards went on to score. Troy Brown Jr., Thomas Bryant and Jason Smith saw their first minutes since Nov. 6 in Dallas.
“That’s what you want, if you can play all your guys every night, but that’s probably unrealistic for us,” Brooks said. “But everybody came in and did their job.”
It wasn’t the best individual night for Wall — eight points in 21 minutes, though that was buoyed by nine assists and five rebounds.
“John’s about winning,” Brooks said, “and some nights — the last two nights it was his night. Tonight he was spreading the ball around. … It’s about sacrificing. It’s not about who’s playing, who’s not playing, who’s getting shots, who’s not getting shots.”
The Wizards have three games left in their home stand. The next comes Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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