Bradley Beal’s return not enough as Wizards blown out against Magic

To start the new year, the Washington Wizards got their best player back on the court.

But even with Bradley Beal’s return from a leg injury Wednesday, the under-manned Wizards had too many defensive lapses and fell 122-101 against the Orlando Magic. Beal had a game-high 27 points, but the Magic shot 47.4% and pulled away in the second half to drop Washington to 10-23.

It was the third Magic-Wizards meeting this season. In the prior two, Orlando scored 125, then 127 — both season-highs for the Magic at the time.

On Wednesday, the Wizards again failed to contain the Magic’s best players.

All-Star center Nikola Vucevic thrived in the paint and beyond the arc, scoring 20 points. Guard Evan Fournier added another 18, and Orlando finished with six players in double-figures. Orlando overcame the loss of forward Jonathan Issac, who suffered a knee injury minutes into the contest. D.J. Augustin led Orlando with 25 off the bench.

“We were a step slow the entire game,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “For some reason, we didn’t fly around and create energy and offense with our activity tonight. We were a step behind on every play.”

The defeat was a letdown for Washington, which was coming off a miraculous upset of the Miami Heat earlier in the week. On Monday, the injury-plagued Wizards pulled off a 123-105 shocker over the team with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, with a trio of Jordan McRae, Garrison Matthews and Ian Mahinmi combining for 82 points.

Against the Magic, Beal returned to the Wizards after right leg soreness caused him to miss two games. Brooks was cagey before the game whether the two-time All-Star would play, telling reporters the guard would first have to go through a pre-game warmup. Not long after, however, Beal was listed among the team’s starters.

Beal’s comeback was more than welcomed for the Wizards, who have had six players sidelined at least for the last few weeks. Injuries have decimated the team this season, leaving Brooks to start players like Jonathan Williams and Gary Payton II — both of whom signed with the Wizards last week.

Despite the adversity, Washington has been able to still play with the up-and-down style that has it ranked third in pace.

“It doesn’t matter who they play, you score, the ball is in and up the floor, and it’s not just these random attacks,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said before the game when asked about the Wizards. “When you walk through it, you’re not going to be able to simulate how quickly they play. And they stay with it through it the whole game.”

That offense helped them stay afloat against the Magic — for a while, at least.

In the first half, Washington played with tempo. In particular, Beal controlled the pace. At halftime, with the Wizards trailing 62-58, the 26-year-old had a game-high 20 points and led with 14 shot attempts.

But the game changed in the third quarter. Vucevic opened the half burying a three at the top of the key. The Wizards didn’t have the wing defenders to contain Fournier and DeMatha product Markelle Fultz from driving into the lane.

“Us playing with smaller guys have been hurting us,” Wizards forward Troy Brown said.

Washington, without bigs Moritz Wagner and Thomas Bryant, didn’t help matters by committing careless turnovers. At one point, Brooks slapped his hands together in frustration following a bad pass from center Anzejs Pasecniks that resulted in a breakaway layup for Orlando.

With their defense a mess, the Wizards’ offense went cold. They shot just 32.5% in the second half, dropping their total to 37.9% overall.

As the game got out of hand, Beal sat for most of the fourth quarter. Periodically throughout the game, the guard also spent time on an exercise bike nearby to keep his leg loose. Beal, who called his injury minor, said he got “bumped a few times,” but felt fine.

“I’m the type of guy who, if it’s not broke, I’m going to play,” Beal said, “But at the same time, I also don’t want to have an injury that’s lingering from here on the rest of the year. Those are some of the worst ones to have, so if I can nip it in the bud, it’s great.”