National Basketball Association
Washington 110, Milwaukee 105
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 10, 2016
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia
Officials: #11 Derrick Collins, #8 Marc Davis, #63 Derek Richardson
Attendance: 14816

WASHINGTON -- Defense and bench production haven't been hallmarks for the Washington Wizards most of this season. That's changed over the last two games and with it, a rare two-game winning-streak.

John Wall had 24 points and 11 assists as Washington outscored the Milwaukee Bucks 15-5 over the final 4:15 for a 110-105 win on Saturday night.

Bradley Beal had 20 points for the Wizards (9-13), who matched their season high with two straight wins and have victories in three of four. Kelly Oubre scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Washington defeated Denver 92-85 Thursday by holding the Nuggets to 12 points in the fourth quarter. The Wizards previously won consecutive games Nov. 21-25.

"It's our defense," Beal said of the recent turnaround. "Once we changed our mentality that we're going to play defense and we're going to be grimy, it just makes the rest of the game easier. It makes out offense easier because we can get out and run."

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks (11-11) one night after Milwaukee blew a 20-point halftime lead in a losing effort against the Atlanta Hawks. Mirza Teletovic scored a season-high 25 points and sank five of Milwaukee's 13 3-pointers.

Washington's 16 fast-break points more than doubled that of Milwaukee. The Wizards only committed 10 turnovers and turned the Bucks' 20 into 24 points.

"Well you can't turn the ball over late," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "We understand that, we've seen that in games where we've had the lead or we've given up the lead because of turnovers. We had 20 turnovers tonight that lead to a lot of points."

Milwaukee led 100-95 after Antetokounmpo sank two free throws with 4:28 left, but didn't score again until 8.9 seconds remained. By that point, the Wizards went up 106-100. Wall scored five of his nine fourth-quarter points during an 11-0 run. During that stretch Oubre turned an open-court steal into a fast break layup.

Washington's 2015 first-round pick played only three minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 26 after he was beaten badly defensively for a backdoor layup. Since then, Oubre has reached double figure points in four of seven games. In the last two, Washington coach kept the athletic forward on the court for the final minutes.

"I learned from my past mistakes and the lessons that coaches taught me in the past," said Oubre, who recently turned 21. "It's all about growth. I feel like we're doing that over here."

Antetokounmpo matched his career high of seven turnovers after committing six against the Hawks.

"We tried to make it crowded for him and he did turn the ball over a few times," Brooks said. "Probably too many than he would like but that was our plan, just to crowd the paint and make it tough on him."

John Henson had 14 points for Milwaukee. The Bucks shot 50.6 percent from the field and made 13 of 25 3-pointers, but lost their second straight and third in four games. They arrived in Washington after falling 114-110 Friday to the Hawks, who scored 70 points in the second half.

"We're supposed to be learning from (the mistakes) and not let it happen again, but it keeps repeating itself," Teletovic said.

Milwaukee shot 61 percent from the field in the first quarter for a 32-23 lead, but Washington tied the score 52-all entering halftime. The reserves have rarely been a source for help this season, but Oubre had nine points and seven rebounds in the first half while Trey Burke's effort helped fuel a 16-7 spurt opening the quarter.

The second half opened with Washington chasing again after the Bucks opened with a 10-2 burst, but the Wizards scored the next 11 points. Oubre's 3-pointer sent the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 77.

NOTES: Bucks F Jabari Parker scored eight points after tallying 27 points in each of his previous two games. ... The Wizards held a "Star Wars" promotion Saturday, which led to a big reveal from head coach and former NBA player Scott Brooks: He's never seen any of movies from the franchise. "I was in the gym working out while you were watching 'Star Wars'," Brooks joked with a reporter. ... Among the healthier teams in the NBA, Milwaukee started the same lineup for the eighth straight game. ... Milwaukee remains on the road for Monday's game at the Toronto Raptors. ... Washington plays at the Miami Heat Monday before returning home for a three straight games.
Top Game Performances
 
Milwaukee   Washington
Giannis Antetokounmpo 28 Scoring John Wall 24
Giannis Antetokounmpo 7 Assists John Wall 11
Giannis Antetokounmpo 13 Rebounds Marcin Gortat 14
Giannis Antetokounmpo 5 Free Throws Made Bradley Beal 7
Malcolm Brogdon 1 Steals Markieff Morris 3
John Henson 2 Blocks Markieff Morris 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Milwaukee 105 50.6 13-25 12-15 22 40 3 1 20
Washington 110 45.5 8-21 22-28 29 40 3 10 10
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Wizards have a W/L % of .222 after a win and .538 after a loss.
  • Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Bucks have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .600 after a loss.