Wizards thump Kings 121-115

Bradley Beal scored 27 points, Bobby Portis added 17 points and 13 rebounds and the Washington Wizards defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 121-115 on Monday night. Jabari Parker scored 18 points and Tomas Satoransky had 17 as Washington started a crucial five-game homestand by ending a two-game losing skid. Beal added nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

Jeff Green's two free throws gave Washington the lead for good with 2:16 remaining. The Wizards, 11th in the Eastern Conference, are 3 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Miami Heat. De'Aaron Fox led seven Kings in double figures with 23 points. Nemanja Bjelica had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which sits ninth in the Western Conference. Washington took the lead early in the second half, with Green's three-point play making it 76-68 with 6:21 left in the third quarter.

Alec Burks' driving layup pulled the Kings within 95-89 with 10:09 left in the game and Corey Brewer's 19-footer cut the Wizards' lead to 104-101 with 6:41 remaining. Bjelica's 3-pointer whittled Washington's lead to two points, but Beal knocked in a corner 3 to make it 111-106 with 4:47 remaining. Sacramento responded with six straight points, taking the lead on Buddy Hield's layup. Green's free throws at 2:16 put the Wizards up 113-112. After three more Washington free throws and Beal's driving layup with 52 seconds left made it 118-112, Fox's three-point play got the Kings within three.

After a Wizards miss, Hield missed and Satoransky got the rebound and was fouled. He made both with 13.6 seconds remaining and Sacramento missed a pair of shots before Beal added a late free throw. The Kings started 3-for-19 from the field and fell behind by double digits early and Washington led by 14 after Chasson Randle's layup late in the first quarter. Fox's 3-pointer pulled the Kings within 50-48 and they closed the half with an 11-4 run that sent them into the locker room with a 60-59 lead.

(With inputs from agencies.)