‘A lot of good memories’

WASHINGTON – Bradley Beal received a nice video tribute while the Phoenix starters were presented in Washington.

He then came out and offered a few more clips for future highlight videos.

Beal was brilliant in his return to Washington on Sunday, scoring a season-high 43 points, Suns rolled to a 140-112 victory about the Three Wise Men. He could have scored 50 if he hadn’t been pulled with 8:44 left due to his team’s huge lead. When he left he received a nice ovation from the public.

“Tonight was amazing,” Beal said. “Being back in the city that helped me grow as a man, that recruited me on my 19th birthday… I have a lot of good memories, and that tribute video was amazing.”

Beal played 11 seasons with the Wizards before being traded to Phoenix last offseason. Washington was going in a different direction, as evidenced by the team’s current record of 9-40. Now Beal has the opportunity to play on a star-studded team alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

“It was a mutual decision over the summer. It wasn’t a rancorous or nasty divorce,” Beal said. “It was a good separation. There were no hard feelings.”

After acknowledging a standing ovation standing in the crowd during the pregame tribute and patting himself on the chest, Beal put on a show, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and 12 more in the second. A two-handed dunk gave him 20 points. Another dunk in the third quarter gave him 35.

Wearing a black protective mask after breaking his nose last week, Beal finished the third quarter with a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left and then hit a free throw when Washington was awarded a technical foul. That gave him 41 points.

He played a little early in the fourth, but the game wasn’t really in doubt, and coach Frank Vogel eventually removed Beal after he had played a maximum playing time of 31:01.

“To be honest, I wasn’t even going to let him in to start the fourth,” Vogel said. “So we left him with a few extra minutes, but we have to approach the game in the right way.”

Beal was 16 of 21 from the field and didn’t seem to force things too much, although he said his teammates clearly wanted him to shine.

“It wasn’t something we talked about in the locker room, but you can feel the energy of the team, like that’s what we were going to do,” Beal said. “And I’m not mad about it.”

When the Wizards played in Phoenix in December, Beal was unable to participate due to a sprained ankle. This was only their 26th game of the season and the Suns want their three stars to gain experience playing together before the playoffs.

“It’s been an adjustment for sure. You go from being very dominant on the ball to now sharing that dominance with two other guys, and three, including Nurk,” Beal said. “My role here is totally different than what it was. It’s a process.”

While the future is exciting for Beal in Phoenix, this weekend was a chance to return to his NBA roots and enjoy what Washington means to him.

“The last few days were a very interesting experience,” Beal said. “It was good to be able to see a lot of familiar faces. That motivated me to play a little harder too, being grateful for everything everyone has done for me here, being grateful for where I am and the team.” where I am now.”