MILWAUKEE -- The Washington Wizards hope they learned their lesson after almost blowing a 28-point lead Saturday night. Stitched Blues Jerseys . Thankfully for the Wizards, they were playing the leagues worst team. Bradley Beal scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Wizards hold off the Milwaukee Bucks 114-107. "We made this game a lot harder than it should have been," said Washingtons John Wall, who scored only nine points and missed 10 of 14 shots. The Wizards opened a 71-43 lead in the second quarter against Milwaukee (12-50), the NBAs first team to lose 50 games. But the Bucks cut the deficit to 104-101 on a pair of free throws by Ersan Ilyasova with 2:13 to go. "Its unfortunate that we have to learn a lesson from this game," said Martell Webster, who scored 15 points after missing two games with a sore back. "No disrespect to that team thats over there. Milwaukees just is in a dysfunctional state," he said. "These are games that we know were supposed to win by a large margin. In this league, you have to kick them when theyre down." After Ilyasova pulled the Bucks within three points, Beal then scored on a driving layup and hit a baseline 3-pointer to give the Wizards a 109-101 lead with 2:01 left. "That kind of stemmed the tide a little bit," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "Those were big baskets." Washington won for the eighth time in nine games. Wall, Washingtons leading scorer at 19.9 points per game, had 13 assists and seven turnovers. Trevor Ariza scored 17 of his 26 points in the first quarter as the Wizards built a big lead. "They werent really missing (shots), and we didnt really help ourselves because of a lack of hustle," said Milwaukees Brandon Knight, who scored 25 points. After dominating the first half, the Wizards missed 13 of 17 shots in the third quarter. Washington scored only 10 points and had seven turnovers in the period. "We took shortcuts defensively, we just stopped playing," Wittman said. Washington made 29 of 43 shots in the first half and took its 71-43 lead on Beals 3-pointer with 2:24 left in the second quarter. The Wizards led 75-53 at halftime, a season high in points for the first half. Milwaukee scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to pull within 75-65, but Ariza scored on a driving layup with 4:57 left to snap the Wizards scoring drought. Washington scored the final four points of the first quarter and then outscored Milwaukee 30-12 to open the second quarter, opening a 66-39 lead on Arizas 3-pointer with 4:14 to go in the half. But the Wizards missed their first nine shots of the second half to let Milwaukee back into the game. "We kept cutting into the deficit but leads like that are just very, very hard to overcome," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said. Ilyasova returned from a one-game suspension for punching Sacramentos Reggie Evans on Wednesday night and scored 13 points in 27 minutes. His teammate, O.J. Mayo, missed the game after being given a one-game suspension for punching New Orleans Greg Stiemsma on Friday night. Ariza made six of eight shots in the first quarter to score 17 points and give Washington a 36-27 lead. Trevor Booker made one of two free throws to give the Wizards the lead for good, 16-15, with 5:33 left in the first quarter. The game marked the return to Milwaukee of forward Drew Gooden, who signed a second 10-day contract with the Wizards on Saturday. Gooden, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract with the Bucks in 2010 but was released on an amnesty provision before this season, scored 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Notes: Ariza went to the court hard with 6:16 left in the first quarter. He stayed on the ground for about a minute before rising and walking to the bench. . The Wizards previous first-half high was 74 points against Philadelphia on March 1. . The Wizards have won 14 of their last 20 road games. Blues Jerseys China . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. St.Louis Blues Shirts . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say.Barcelona hammered Real Madrid 4-0 at the Bernabeu in November with a performance which boss Luis Enrique said would go down in history. A double from Luis Suarez and further goals from Neymar and Andres Iniesta humiliated the hosts and moved Barca six points clear at the top of La Liga. They did it without Lionel Messi for much of the game too, with the Argentina ace only making his return from injury 57 minutes in.A rash challenge from Isco, which saw him sent off, capped a miserable night for the hosts and the Madrid fans jeered Real boss Rafa Benitez before the full-time whistle was even blown. But how did Barca pull off the victory? And what went so wrong for Real Madrid?Here, ahead of Saturdays El Clasico, we look back at the first meeting between the sides this season and pick out the key factors in Barcelonas remarkable win… Watch highlights of Barcelonas 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Team selectionAhead of the match there was intense speculation on whether Messi would return from a knee problem to take on Real Madrid and his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Ultimately, Messi started on the bench and Sergi Roberto was given a chance to impress. But it was the team selection of hosts Real Madrid which proved to be more decisive.Benitez opted to drop defensive midfielder Casemiro to make way for James Rodriguez. It left Real unbalanced and unable to boss the midfield battle. Jamie Carragher was unimpressed with the selection and suggested it was an uncharacteristic move from Benitez. Jamie Carragher picks apart what went wrong for Real Madrid in their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona Thats not a team Rafa would pick, Carragher said when analysing the game on Monday Night Football. Either the people above him have got involved or maybe hes bowed to media pressure or the players, I just dont know.You look at the team and hes not gone in with a holding midfield player - Rafa would normally play two. His best player this season has been Casemiro and hes left him out. I dont know if theres something where hes maybe getting pressure from the owner - weve bought these big stars and they need to play - and hes said ok lets play them against Barcelona, thats what happens. You see the results.Attitude from Reals players Gareth Bale tries to chase down Lionel Messi While the balance of the Real team may not have been right, what cant be denied is they fielded and XI bursting with quality. The problem was their application. There was a clear split in the Real Madrid team between attack and defence, with the hosts seemingly playing a 4-2-4 for much of the game. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos were left exposed in midfield and Barcelona were able to capitalise.They looked like the team had broken in two, Carragher said. There was a big gap between attack and defence and it was a bit like watching a Sunday league game. People just waiting up front. Were talking about world class stars. There was no intensity.Your nightmare as a player, as a midfield two, is playing against Barcelona and your front four arent willing to help you out. What can be worse than that? This type of game is not about the tactics. At one point you need to bring the desire and the right commitment on the field and the right intensity. It wasnt there at all [from Real Madrid]. Thierry Henry Thierry Henry was equally unimpressed with the attitude from Reals players and said that their failure to apply themselves appropriately left Benitez no way to influence the encounter.This type of game is not about the tactics, the former Barcelona forward told Sky Sports. At one point you need to bring the desire and the right commitment on the field and the right intensity. It wasnt there at all [from Real Madrid]. You cant play a Clasico like that.People are going to talk about Benitez and the tactics but the tactics come along when both teams desire and commitment is there and the game is tight. Then the boss will have to trigger one, two or three things to see whos going to be the best boss. But if your team goes out there without the right desire or commitment it becomes really difficult for the coach.Im not trying to find any excuses for Benitez but first and foremost you need to bring the desire on the field. You saw a team on one side and on the other side you see a group of players playing for themselves and not being a team at the moment. It was a collective thing. At the end of the day hes [Benitez] going to maybe take the blame. They ultimately failed as a team today. They didnt play well. Terry Gibson analyses Real Madrids tactical errors in El Clasico Barcelonas brillianceWhile much of the post-game reaction focused on Real Madrids shortcomings and the impact the result would have on Benitezs future, Barcelonas exceptional performance should not be overlooked. St.Louis Blues Store. uarez was clinical in attack, converting two of his four shots, while Neymar conjured up twice as many key passes as any other player on the pitch. Ivan Rakitic didnt misplace a single pass in Reals half, Sergio Busquets racked up more tackles than anyone else and Gerard Pique was imperious at the back. All in all, it was a superb team performance from the visitors. Luis Suarez hit a brace against Real Madrid I dont think Real Madrid gave up, I just think we were a level above them, was Barca boss Enriques clinical assessment of the contest. We outnumbered them in many areas of the game and we were very effective. The game is more of a reflection of our merits than Madrids faults.This victory tastes glorious because it is against our eternal rivals and, as well as the victory, it will be very difficult for us to better this performance. This game will go down in history; it will be remembered by all Barcelona fans. This squad won the treble last year and it is one of the best squads you could hope for. Terry Gibson reviews Barcelonas tactics in their 4-0 win over Real Madrid Barcelonas commitment For all of Barcelonas eye-catching play, Henry was also keen to highlight their remarkable work rate when they didnt have the ball.Real Madrid recorded a far worse passing accuracy to their rivals (82.6 v 90.2 per cent) and managed just 41.4 per cent of possession. The Catalans intense pressing gave Benitezs men no time on the ball. Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter review Barcelonas win over rivals Real Madrid People always talk about when Barcelona have the ball and how they pass the ball well but they put pressure on, the back line is backing up the midfielders and striker to put pressure on, said Henry.The distances are right between the players. They never give up, they help each other. You even saw Busquets in the 91st minute making a foul. It could have been 4-1 but no, 4-0. The discipline and intensity is key for that team.When you see the likes of Suarez working hard, Neymar working hard, Andres Iniesta working hard, it speaks volumes to the other guys to be better. We dont emphasise enough how Barca is good in those type of situations. Neymar got on the scoresheet at the Bernabeu Contrasting performances from star performers Barcelonas brilliance is built on more than just one man and in the previous nine games, with injured Messi absent, Enriques side had won seven. At the Bernabeu, with the Argentine benched, attacking duo Suarez and Neymar stepped up and delivered once again.The pair scored 18 goals during Messis absence and, with him watching from the dugout, added three more to their tally against Real. Suarezs opener after 11 minutes concluded a brilliant 24-pass team move.For Real, Ronaldo could easily have made his way onto the scoresheet had it not been for two brilliant stops from Claudio Bravo - but the hosts key man was unable to influence proceedings as he would have liked. Ronaldo only managed two shots at goal in the entire game and produced just one pass leading to a shooting opportunity. The defeat heaped pressure on then Real boss Rafa Benitez While he struggled, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez failed to make their mark, too. The trio only managed to work Bravo four times between them.The performance of the latter three players raises questions about whether they were physically ready for the intensity of a Clasico, given they had all been sidelined with injury in the weeks leading up to the game. Since the start of October Real Madrid played seven games but of the 1890 minutes the trio could have racked up, they had managed just 309.Gareth Bale was the only one to have played a full 90 minutes in that time. He did it just once, in Reals 3-2 defeat to Sevilla in the previous game. In short, most of Reals key attackers were undercooked. Also See: Barca pay tribute to Cruyff Messis 117-game shooting streak ends ' ' '