John Wall (25 points, 12 assists) and the Wizards are three for three on their current road trip out West. They face the Trail Blazers on Saturday night in Portland. (Ed Szczepanski/Usa Today Sports)

In a word, Bradley Beal summed up the secret behind his recent play.

“Confidence,” he said.

On Friday night, Beal displayed this feeling of self-assurance during the Washington Wizards’ 130-122 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings.

Beal scored a game-high 38 points and made the biggest shot of the night, a corner three-pointer with 2:36 remaining in overtime. Beal’s fifth three-pointer — after which he pointed to a fan seated court side — pulled Washington ahead for good and into second place in the Eastern Conference.

Through much of the night, the Wizards (40-24) wore the look of a bored visitor in their only trip to California’s capital city. The team defended passively and their lack of focus brewed trouble, especially since the Boston Celtics had lost earlier in the night in Denver and opened the door to second place.

However behind a solid team effort in recovering from 15 points down, Washington now moves ahead of Boston.

John Wall, who picked up his 12th technical foul of the season, finished with 25 points and 12 assists — his lob to Markieff Morris with 1:08 remaining helped seal the game. Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 and blocked a shot in overtime, for a rare Wizards’ defensive highlight.

[The Wizards’ Otto Porter Jr. puts slump behind him, just keeps shooting]

The Wizards’ offensive gusto showed up as usual. Even though it started the game by missing 11 of 13 three-point attempts, during the first half Washington made 55 percent inside the arc. The Wizards’ strong interior play — 38 points in the paint — outpaced the Kings through the opening two quarters, yet the Wizards spent far too much time in playing catch up.

Washington lagged as Sacramento shared the ball, reacting late to interior passes or kick-outs to perimeter shooters. After Garrett Temple made a three near the midway point of the second quarter to build a nine-point Kings lead, Washington responded by going small with Morris as center. However, the move created mismatches and problems in protecting the rim. On one play, 7-foot center Willie Cauley-Stein backed down Wall before sending a pass to guard Buddy Hield cutting inside for a layup.

Though the Wizards could not stop penetration, they looked worse in defending the three-point arc. Through the half, Sacramento made 51.1 percent from the floor, including 8 of 12 from three (66.7 percent).

But the fourth quarter was a different story. The Wizards poured on a 20-4 run. In the stretch, Jason Smith scored seven of his nine points while Ian Mahinmi, filling in for Marcin Gortat, scored seven points, including an 8-foot shot that tied the score at 107 with 3:36 remaining.

When the Wizards finally pulled ahead, the Kings responded on the other end. In the closing seconds, the teams were locked in a tie when Wall dribbled into Darren Collison. The collision knocked Collison backwards, and with the clear look, Wall drained a jumper with 19.7 seconds remaining. But on the other end, Collison penetrated and no one defended Cauley-Stein, resulting in a game-tying lob dunk.

In overtime, the Wizards revived their contender status by putting away the Kings. The night snapped Washington’s spiral of six straight losses in Sacramento. The Kings (25-39) have now lost seven of their last eight since trading all-star DeMarcus Cousins.