Bradley Beal denies D’Angelo Russell with chase-down block (Video)

Bradley Beal isn’t known for his shot-blocking, but he had an exceptional chase-down block on D’Angelo Russell during the Washington Wizards’ Thursday night game.

The Washington Wizards are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and as they faced the second-worst team in the Western Conference Thursday night, John Wall and company were able to continue fanning the flames of their ascent in the Eastern Conference.

Wall has been getting all the recognition as the Wizards’ All-Star representative, but a huge factor in Washington’s midseason turnaround has been Bradley Beal staying healthy.

Though Beal is known more for his scoring and three-point shooting, on Thursday night, his big highlight of the game was a chase-down block on poor D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers:

Chase-down blocks are an art in the NBA, usually aided by the help of a teammate willing to try and cut the offensive player off, possibly sacrificing themselves for the ever-unwanted “poster” in the process.

In this case, Beal got the help from his teammate, who ran Russell off from the basket just long enough to for the Wizards’ star shooting guard to size up the play, burst toward the basket and absolutely deflate the ball off the backboard.

Seriously, Bradley Beal: What did that poor ball ever do to you?

At 29-20, the Wizards have ascended to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. After starting the season 3-9, Washington has won 26 of its last 37 games. They’re suddenly only half a game out of the third seed in the East, and only 4.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top seed.

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In his best season yet, Beal is averaging 22.0 points, 3.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range, and as long as he stays healthy, the Wizards have a legitimate shot at advancing past the second round of the playoffs.