Beal scores 28 as Wizards beat Bucks 102-90

"Right now we are spotty," Boylan said of his team's energy. "We are not consistently bringing the type of energy that we need to win a game. Tonight we had some spurts and a little pop at times, however we have had a hard time sustaining it in the last few games."

The Wizards scored nine consecutive points to take control of the game midway through the fourth quarter. Nene scored the first five points, A.J. Price scored on a layup and Beal capped the streak with two free throws to make it 90-78 with 6:35 left.

The Bucks pulled to 96-90 on a 3 by Jennings with 2:35 left, but Nene backed down the smaller Ilyasova and scored on a layup with 2:15 left to make it 98-90.

Nene then easily intercepted a pass from Samuel Dalembert under the basket. Wall was fouled and converted both free throws to put Washington up 10 with 1:45 to go.

"We missed a lot of free throws and wide open shots, but it's not really an excuse for us," Ilyasova said. "When you're on the floor you have to make good shots."

Nene dominated down low with Milwaukee forward Larry Sanders missing his third consecutive game due to a bone bruise in his lower back. He had 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting with 13 rebounds and six assists.

"He stabilized a lot of different things for us," Wittman said of Nene.

Beal scored 16 points in the first half and Washington led 55-47 at halftime. Beal's 3-pointer made it 47-44 with 3:24 left in the second quarter.

NOTES: It was the Wizards' first road win against an Eastern Conference team after opening the season with 14 consecutive losses. ... Sanders will seek a second opinion since the injury didn't seem to be healing. ... Bucks F Marquis Daniels returned to the team after missing a game for personal reasons.