NBA bad beat: All bettors needed was a Bradley Beal layup, and he blew two of them

Last season, Bradley Beal became a star. He averaged 31.3 points per game for the Washington Wizards.

Of all the players in the NBA, he's one of the last you'd expect to miss a layup to blow a bet. You really don't expect him to brick two layups.

On Wednesday night, the Wizards faced the Boston Celtics. The first-half over/under total was 114.5 at many sportsbooks, according to NESN. The teams had combined for 114 points with a few seconds to go before halftime. Then over bettors got a gift.

Beal got the ball under the basket after a scramble. He was open for the first one. He was really, really open for a second one after missing the first. If he hit either, the total would have been 116 and over 114.5 bettors would have had a win.

He missed both.

That's harrowing for anyone with a first-half over ticket. On the first layup Beal might have felt a little pressure from behind with Celtics guard Jaylen Brown trailing the play. But the second one was a shot that most of us could make in an open gym.

It happens. Even the best players miss bunnies once in a while. It's just that these two misses were at the buzzer of the second quarter and cost bettors.

The Wizards and Beal laughed about it after. They ended up winning the game over Boston. Bettors who had the first-half over weren't in such a jovial mood.