WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 34 points, Russell Westbrook added 19 as part of his NBA-leading 10th triple-double, and the Washington Wizards used a 44-point third quarter to pull away for a 128-112 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Westbrook added 14 rebounds and 12 assists for the Wizards.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who dropped their seventh straight, matching their longest slide of the season.
Anthony Edwards added 21 points for NBA-worst Minnesota, as starting guard Malik Beasley served the first of a 12-game suspension.
The Timberwolves were in it until Washington’s third-quarter outburst, which included an extended 35-12 run.
The Wizards scored nine straight to start it, with Westbrook’s running dunk and Beal’s 3-pointer from the top of the key giving them a 72-67 lead and coaxing newly installed Minnesota coach Chris Finch into a timeout.
“When teams make a run on you, you’ve got to fight back,” said Finch, following his third game in charge. “That’s what we have to be. We need to learn how to be a little more resilient right now.”
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