MINNEAPOLIS -- The Washington Wizards could be one of the Eastern Conference's most dangerous teams down the stretch of the NBA's regular season.

A veteran bench is one of the main reasons why.

Washington's second unit outscored Minnesota's by a 64-18 margin, led by Bradley Beal's 26 points, in a 104-98 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Wednesday.

The Wizards earned their fourth win in a row and pulled back to the .500 mark at 30-30 on the season. They are a half-game behind the Detroit Pistons for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards also have one game in hand.

"Winning just brings good spirits, it brings attitude, it brings swag, and it brings positive energy," Beal said. "It brings everything you can possibly want, and that's everything we have. The locker room is great, guys are getting along, coaches are getting along. And we're winning. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. We know that if we're going to make the playoffs, we have to win every day."

Beal is averaging a career-high 17.9 points per game this season despite the fact he has started only three games since Dec. 11. He said he tries to use his role as a bench player to his advantage.

Right now, it is working.

"I don't look at it as punishment or anything like that with (coach Randy Wittman) putting me on the bench or anything like that," Beal said. "Me just being aggressive, just taking advantage of matchups that are out there. I'm confident in myself and I'll never say anyone is better than me on the floor, but just coming off the bench is definitely an adjustment, but it works in my favor at the same time."

Wittman said, "It's good (to see the production), now I'd like to get minutes. I should be an analytic guru trying to figure these minutes out and when guys gotta come out. But we're getting there, we're getting healthy."

After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Wizards took control in the second quarter, outscoring Minnesota 31-22 to take a 60-54 lead into the break.

Minnesota led by five points two minutes into the second quarter before the Wizards went on a 16-8 run to take a 56-48 advantage. The Wolves got within four points on Andrew Wiggins' driving floater with four seconds remaining in the first half, but John Wall's dazzling, end-to-end driving layup at the horn pushed the lead back to six points.

Wiggins' long 2-point jumper with four minutes left in the third gave Minnesota its first lead since the midway through the second.

Washington's Jared Dudley and Ramon Sessions scored the final five points of the quarter, and the Wizards took an 85-77 lead to the fourth.

Every time the Wolves seemed to gain a bit of momentum, Washington quashed any hopes of a sustained run.

Alan Anderson's 3-pointer with seven minutes remaining gave Washington its largest lead of the night at 97-83. The Wolves scored the next seven points to get back within seven before Beal drilled his third 3-pointer of the game, pushing Washington's lead back to double digits.

"Beal is an All-Star-caliber player," Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said. "They have veteran guys who know how to play. They have guys sitting on the bench who have played in playoff games, have 600 or 700 games under their belt. They know how to play."

The Wolves got as close as six points in the final minute of the game and had the ball with a chance to make it a one-possession game. Rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns drove the lane and made a layup, but the Wizards' Nene was able to draw the charge.

Seconds later, Wall daggered the Wolves with an 18-foot fadeaway jumper.

"We fought, we played a decent game," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said. "But our defense wasn't that good. We made a lot of mistakes, especially on defense."

Wall finished with 14 points and 12 assists for his 35th double-double this season but shot just 6-for-18 from the floor. Marcin Gortat also had 12 points and chipped in four rebounds.

Anderson, a Minneapolis native in his fourth game back from ankle surgery, had 18 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

"It's been a long, long journey with trying to get this ankle right," Anderson said. "But it feels much better to contribute and to help us win."

Four Timberwolves starters finished in double figures, led by Rubio's 22 points. Zach LaVine added 21 points, and Wiggins finished with 17.

Towns had 14 points to go with 15 rebounds, also locking up his 35th double-double.

Washington shot 42-for-84 as a team and outscored Minnesota 50-30 in the paint. The Wolves were 32-for-75 (42.7 percent) from the floor.

NOTES: Wizards G Gary Neal did not travel with the team and remains out with a thigh injury. ... Wizards G Jarell Eddie was also declared inactive. ... Timberwolves F Greg Smith was active one day after signing a 10-day contract with the club. Smith scored four points in almost 10 minutes of action. ... Washington will finish a two-game road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday at Quicken Loans Arena. ... Minnesota plays the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday at BMO Harris Bradley Center.