Wizards overtake short-handed Bucks 118-95

Drew Holiday was also sidelined with an illness, while Khris Middleton missed eight straight games with a sore right knee.

Daniel Gafford gave the Wizards 17 points (17-21), but the Wizards weren’t strong enough either. They played without top scorer Bradley Beal, who is dealing with a sore left hamstring.

Bobby Portis led Milwaukee with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jevon Carter had 14 points and Grayson Allen had 13 points and eight assists.

Washington set the pace to 34-17 after the first quarter with Gafford’s 13 points as the Wizards capitalized on a two-center lineup with Bucks big man Brook Lopez off the bench early in foul trouble. Milwaukee made 26 percent of the shots and made just 3 of 14 long-range shots in that period, while the Wizards made half of them.

The Wizards led by 26 in the second quarter and held a 68-50 advantage at halftime. Washington shot 57.4% in the first half, while Milwaukee only shot 34.6%.

Washington easily maintained control throughout the second half as the cold-shooting Bucks failed to mount sustained runs.

tip in

Wizards: F Taj Gibson has missed two games in a row with a sore left groin. “I don’t want to push it to the point that this could last longer than it should,” said coach West Unseld Jr. … Gafford, who averaged 7.1 points per game, scored his eight points for the first time in Washington. … Washington scored 72 points in the paint.