

Bradley Beal’s minutes have spiked to 39.6 over the last five games. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

BROOKLYN — After watching his minutes spike over the previous week and a half, Bradley Beal observed more of Friday night’s game from the bench.

During the Washington Wizards’ 107-105 loss at the San Antonio Spurs, Beal played only 30 minutes, his fewest since Nov. 11. The playing restriction came after a stretch of five games (Nov. 21-30) in which Beal averaged the second-most minutes in the league, 39.6, behind only teammate John Wall (40).

“I tried to keep him in between 28 and 30 minutes, Coach Scott Brooks said.

Following Friday, Beal’s average dipped as the Wizards had hoped, but Wall is tied for most minutes per game since Nov. 21 with Minnesota’s Zach LaVine. Wall, Beal and their teammates were given Saturday off after traveling from San Antonio. The Wizards (6-12) will conclude a three-game road trip Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets (5-13).

Part of Wall and Beal’s recent workload was caused by the team playing in consecutive overtime games on Nov. 28 and 30. However, as the Wizards struggle to find consistent production from the reserves, the lack of depth forces the starters, and specifically Wall and Beal, to play more.

[Oubre heeds Brooks’s advice and sees increase in minutes]

On Friday, Wizards reserves outscored their counterparts 15-12 in the first half but contributed only two points the rest of the game. While Washington’s starters produced the bulk of the team’s turnovers — 20 mistakes that turned into 24 points for the Spurs, a glaring blemish in a two-point game — every player on the second unit produced a minus-nine or worse while on the floor. This season, the Wizards’ bench has the worst net rating among 30 teams (minus-12.6 per 100 possessions) and has outscored opposing benches only three times in 18 games.

With reserve center Ian Mahinmi nursing a knee injury and without a set rotation, the bench remains a work in a progress — and therefore, at times, a heavier burden rests upon the two best players. Even so, the Wizards have tried to curb their responsibilities as much as possible.

Wall, who underwent surgery on both knees during the offseason, started the year by sitting in the second games of back-to-back sets.

Beal, who has experienced injuries throughout his five-year career, plays this season under a team-mandated rule to limit him to 180 minutes over a nine-day stretch. The expectation is to preserve Beal through a long season; he has never played more than 73 games in his career. Even with abbreviated minutes against the Spurs, Beal looked refreshed as he made 7 of 11 shots and all five from beyond the three-point arc for a team-high 23 points.

“It was tough, but I tried to stay locked in as much as I could,” Beal said about playing under the minutes restriction on Friday. “I can’t let that affect me. The best that I can, I try to contribute to the team and winning every second that I was on the floor. As much as I want to, I want to play 40 minutes every game but I can’t.

“Nobody can be able to do that for 82 games,” Beal continued. “It’s a matter of just controlling what you can control. These last couple of games I’m just focusing on what I control, playing hard and just leaving it on the floor.”