WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal said he spent a restless night after the Washington Wizards lost a key conference game.
After Saturday’s effort, he was bound to sleep well.
Beal scored 40 points for the second straight game and the Wizards beat the Memphis Grizzlies 135-128, bouncing back from a home loss to Charlotte on Friday.
“I didn’t sleep well. I was mad all night,” Beal said. “Woke up at 6. Been up all day just thinking about the game last night. I just knew how important it was to get one tonight, no matter what it took.”
Beal shot 12 of 17 from the field and made a career-high nine 3-pointers. He added seven assists, five rebounds and two steals while committing one turnover.
“The way he’s playing, the way he’s improved, the way he’s led, my very biased opinion he’s All-NBA the way he’s playing,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “He’s doing things that that level of player does night in and night out.”
Washington converted 17 of 35 from beyond the arc in a game that featured 20 lead changes.
The Wizards, 11th in the Eastern Conference, moved within three games of eighth-place Miami and improved to 3-1 on a five-game homestand.
Jabari Parker had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Bobby Portis scored 18 points for Washington.
Mike Conley had 28 points and 12 assists for Memphis. Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 points and Avery Bradley added 21.
Memphis came in allowing 104.1 points per game and dropped its second straight after losing 132-113 in Atlanta on Wednesday.
“I’m extremely disappointed in our effort on the defensive end on this trip,” Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We’ll keep trying different things, different people, different positions, but we just can’t survive playing this way and that’s not how we’re going to be as a team.”
Beal’s 3-pointer gave the Wizards a 119-114 lead with 6:03 remaining and he followed with a driving layup to increase the lead to seven.
Memphis cut it to three when Valanciunas dunked and Conley made two free throws after a Washington turnover, but Jeff Green hit a corner 3 for Washington to make it 129-123.
Conley answered with a 3, but Beal scored on a drive as the shot clock expired.
Valanciunas’ dunk pulled Memphis to 131-128, but Parker hit two free throws with 6.2 seconds left off a clear-path foul.
Conley’s runner at the buzzer gave Memphis a 71-69 halftime lead.
“In years past when we scored 128, we thought it was an automatic win in our book,” Conley said. “At halftime, we felt that if we were going to get stops that we were going to win because we were scoring at such a high clip. It was just one of those nights that we just let it slip away.”
The Wizards next host the Utah Jazz on Monday.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: It was the first time in franchise history the Grizzlies and their opponent each scored at least 100 points through the first three quarters. … It was Conley’s 10th double-double. … F Chandler Parsons had season highs in points (16) and rebounds (six).
Wizards: G Tomas Satoransky was in the lineup after leaving Friday’s game for a concussion evaluation. … Are 9-4 in the second of back-to-backs. … The Wizards have won five straight against the Grizzlies at home.
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