WASHINGTON — After waking up with a migraine headache on Friday, John Wall could at least go to bed knowing his Washington Wizards are back in the playoffs.
Wall overcame his symptoms to score 22 points, Bradley Beal added 19, and the Wizards defeated the Brooklyn Nets 129-108 on Friday to help secure their third postseason berth in four years.
“Just play,” said Wall of his approach. “I’ve played through a lot of stuff. I’ll be all right.”
The third-place Wizards secured their Eastern Conference spot when Detroit and Chicago lost elsewhere, and also moved a game ahead of idle Toronto.
Brandon Jennings had 18 points, one of three Wizards bench players to score in double-figures.
Washington’s second unit outscored Brooklyn’s 33-14 during a lopsided first half.
That helped coach Scott Brooks give his starters some rest ahead of a five-game road trip that includes visits to Cleveland and Golden State.
“We knew March was going to be pretty demanding,” said Brooks, whose team will play eight of its last 10 away from the Verizon Center. “It’s a challenge, but our guys are excited about it.”
Wall and Beal each played 24 minutes, with Wall playing his second-fewest in a game this season.
That was a welcome break for the four-time All-Star point guard, whose symptoms had convinced him to skip the morning shootaround.
“I’ve still got a headache, (but) it’s not as bad as it was this morning,” Wall said. “I took some medicine. I slept just about all day until like 4:30. So still taking medicine, still trying to do as much treatment as I can and prepare myself for tomorrow.”
Justin Hamilton scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Nets a day after Brooklyn beat Phoenix 126-98 for its second-largest win of the season.
The Nets actually led by nine early, then trailed by as many as 28 after Washington outscored Brooklyn 55-18 during a 15-minute stretch that went deep into the second quarter.
“Things don’t go your way all the time, and I feel like we could’ve handled it a little differently,” said Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who added 19 points for Brooklyn. “But that’s on us.”
