Beal scores 33, Wizards hang on late to beat Nuggets

DENVER (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 33 points and the Washington Wizards escaped Denver with a 112-110 victory Thursday night when Facundo Campazzo missed a hurried 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Rui Hachimura added 20 points for the Wizards, who swept their home-and-home series with the Nuggets and completed a 3-1 trip out West. Denver got 34 points from Jamal Murray, 24 points from Nikola Jokic and 18 from Michael Porter Jr.

Murray missed a 26-foot step-back jumper with 31 seconds remaining and Beal got the rebound. Raul Neto’s floater with 5.6 seconds was off the mark and Jokic got the rebound. But Murray passed up a 3-point attempt and instead threw a long pass to Campazzo, who missed from 25 feet, and the Wizards ran off the court in jubilation at another close win.

The Nuggets committed 18 turnovers two days after turning the ball over just once in a victory over Portland.

The Nuggets started out cold, missing 13 of their first 17 shots, but they surged to a 51-48 lead on the strength of a 19-4 run. The Wizards responded with a mini-spurt of their own to head into the locker room with a 56-54 lead.

Denver trailed until Zeke Nnaji's bucket in the final minute of the third quarter gave the Nuggets an 88-86 advantage. Neto's two free throws sent the game into the fourth quarter knotted at 88.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Washington wrapped up a four-game trip. ... The Wizards saw their five-game winning streak snapped by the Clippers on Tuesday night but have been playing much better of late, including a 130-128 win over Denver last week in which Davis Bertans had career highs with nine 3-pointers and 35 points.

Nuggets: Denver was still without Gary Harris (left adductor), P.J. Dozier (right hamstring), Paul Millsap (left knee strain) and JaMychal Green (left shoulder). With their top two power forwards sidelined, Porter started at that spot again. ... The Nuggets started out 4-for-17 from the field, including 1-for-12 by players not named Jokic.

UP NEXT

Wizards: On Saturday they host the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have lost six straight since beating the Toronto Raptors on Valentine’s Day.

Nuggets: At Oklahoma City on Saturday. The Thunder will be playing the second night of a back-to-back.

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