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After losing last night to the Portland Trailblazers, the Washington Wizards beat the 2nd-placed Denver Nuggets 128-114 in the NBA.
With a back-to-back game this week against 2 Western Conference teams, there was not much hope for Bradley Beal to play in either game. He remained out on the sidelines, as the already depleted Wizards looked to fight on. And tonight, they did so, as the Nuggets could not beat out the Wizards up against strong performances from several players. Of course it being the Wizards, you never know what games they will lose or win. It is a norm nowadays that they beat the harder teams, but lose to the easy ones. With that being said, here is an analysis of tonight's win against the Nuggets.
Ish Smith scores career-high 32 points
Although Isaiah Thomas was back in action after his ejection from last night's game within 90 seconds, Ish Smith was given double the minutes Thomas got off the bench tonight. Smith took advantage of it, scoring a career-high 32 points. He went 15-24 FG, 1-2 FT, and 1-2 3PT. Smith also racked up 3 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals to end the night. With Thomas slowly becoming a liability for the team, Smith could see more opportunities or even the starting position. Either way, signing Ish this offseason was a great move by the organization.
TBJ comes off the bench, scores 25 points
Saying Troy Brown Jr. should start might seem irrelevant, as it looks like the young man does better coming off the bench. Tonight, he was benched in place of Jordan McRae. Either way, he scored 25 points, going 10-12 FG, 3-3 FT, and 2-3 3PT. He will likely stay on the bench for now until Beal is back, and will then share minutes with McRae. For now, TBJ is still a project and will continue to improve as long ass head coach Scott Brooks gives him the right amount of minutes
Isaac Bonga produces for the first time
Seems like the players are taking advantage of the injuries on the roster, but Isaac Bonga has not produced at all this season, despite being in the starting 5 for the most part. Tonight, he had a career-high of 15 points coming off the bench. Yes, 15 points does not sound a lot, but he has started 19 of the 29 games so far and that says a lot. Do not expect him to produce like this every night, considering the minutes he receives and lack of ability to score.
What's next?
The Wizards have a day break before their home game against the Boston Celtics on Monday. Tune-in at 7PM ET.
