The Washington Wizards have now lost their last three games following a 137-133 overtime loss at home to the Milwaukee Bucks Monday, but Wizards’ guard Bradley Beal has been on quite an impressive personal run. Beal scored a career-high 53 points (on 15-of-27 shooting from the field, 55.6 percent) in Washington’s 126-117 road loss to the Chicago Bulls Sunday, then did even better Monday, posting 55 points (on 19-of-33 shooting, 57.6 percent) against the Bucks. And as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington noted, that puts Beal into rarefied air indeed:
Bradley Beal is just the third player in NBA history with back-to-back games of 53 points or more.
Wilt Chamberlain, James Harden, Bradley Beal.
That's it.
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) February 25, 2020
Here are some of Beal’s highlights on the night:
Bradley Beal is out here hoopin' 😤 pic.twitter.com/y6DNIqQGwB
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 25, 2020
Bradley Beal is up to 48 points. He's been HOOPING 🔥 (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/aoDnRmSH5t
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 25, 2020
This website notes it is significant that this came on back-to-back nights, and that club is pretty small too. In fact, as ESPN Stats and Info also noted, the last player to score 50-plus points on back-to-back days was Kobe Bryant back in 2007:
Bradley Beal is the first player to score 50 points on consecutive days since Kobe Bryant also did it on both nights of a road back-to-back in March 2007. pic.twitter.com/eESGiST70c
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 25, 2020
Bryant actually scored 50+ points four times in March 2007, but the back-to-back games referenced above saw him drop 60 against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 22 and 50 against the New Orleans Hornets on March 23; the 50 is why he’s not on the above list of 53+ points in back-to-back games. And while Chamberlain and Harden have both done that, they appear to be the only ones, and Harden’s only done it three times (two last season and one this season). Chamberlain recorded 16 streaks of 53+ points in two or more consecutive games, but that was a rather different era, with his last streak of that sort coming in 1962. So Beal is in very exclusive company indeed here. If you would have foreseen this coming, you could have made some good money on BetMGM!
[Chase Hughes on Twitter]
