Playing 82 games means something more to Beal

SAN ANTONIO — As Bradley Beal answered for the Washington Wizards’ latest loss, he resisted the easy out. The Wizards dressed 10 healthy players against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night but only used eight through much of the game in which they were outrebounded and outplayed within the paint for the 98-90 result. But that didn’t matter, murmured Beal in his baritone which predictably grows toneless and even deeper following tough losses.

“It’s not an excuse,” Beal said. “We still had a chance to win.”

This same defiance has defined Beal’s sixth NBA season in which he has played in the most consecutive games of his career, refusing to yield to fatigue ahead of achieving a personal goal.

Tonight when the Wizards host the Denver Nuggets, Beal will step onto the court for the 72nd straight game. The streak has long eclipsed his previous regular-season high of playing 48 consecutive games, set a year ago and heads toward the larger objective of appearing in all 82 games.

Beal set a career high last season with 77 games played and earned rest at the end of the schedule since Washington had its playoff spot sealed. This year, the 82-game objective carries more weight than just being a vanity accomplishment.

For the moment, the Wizards (40-31) have fallen into the sixth seed of the East and, as the playoff picture continues to shuffle, the team will need the remaining 11 games to secure a better spot. As Washington’s leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, Beal must remain on the floor on those nights; a challenge he had long accepted before the start of the season.

“I never played in 82 before,” Beal said. “So this will be the first time in my whole career that I’ll be able to do it.

“You got to be able to be mentally tough, physically, emotionally, spiritually, everything,” Beal said. “We got to be tougher than we are. We’re running out of time.”

Earlier in his career, Beal had bristled at the stigma of being perceived as injury prone. Over his third and fourth seasons, Beal missed 46 games. Then, eight games into Beal’s fifth season — after signing a five-year, $128 million contract — a hamstring injury sidelined him for three matchups and that familiar brittle refrain picked up. Tonight, 7 TV: NBCSWA Radio: 1500 AM