|
 Wall had 30 points and 12 assists, but he also played a
disruptive brand of defense that brought his teammates to life,
delivering on preseason promise to become a more complete leader.
"I'm like the head of the snake, both offensively and defensively,"
Wall said. "I knew we couldn't start this season 0-2, so I had to
come out more aggressively."
The Wizards, who lost their opener Tuesday in Miami, roared to a
17-point third-quarter lead, then held off a late Magic charge when
Wall re-entered the game and slammed the door shut.
"He's the one everyone feeds off of," Wizards coach Randy Wittman
said. "If he's not into it defensively, then everyone senses that.
Tonight he was into it."
The Magic, who trailed most of the game, closed to 100-98 with 44
seconds remaining before Wall scored the final five points to give
the Wizards a 105-98 win.
 All Washington starters scored in double figures. Center Marcin
Gortat had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Paul Pierce added 16
points, and forward Nene and guard Garrett Temple had 12 each.
"He (Wall) is our All-Star. He's our best player. We need him to
take charge."
The Magic were led by center Nikola Vucevic with 23 points and 12
rebounds. Reserve guard Ben Gordon had 22 points and forward Evan
Fournier added 21.
After opening with two road games, the Wizards (1-1) will play their
home opener Saturday against Milwaukee. The Magic (0-2) return to
play Saturday at home against Toronto.
The Magic shot 51.4 percent (37 of 72), but they were hurt by 18
turnovers, including eight in the first quarter, when they fell
behind early and spent much of the night playing from behind.
"We're not good enough to have that many turnovers," Vucevic said.
"That hurt us. I thought we played them pretty well, but we can't
allow ourselves to dig a hole like that. They were in the playoffs
last year, so they know how to get it done."
The Wizards outscored the Magic 28-15 in the third quarter to take
control after a relatively tight first half. Wall had 11 points and
Pierce had seven in the period while the Magic stumbled through six
more turnovers. Washington led by as many as 17 points late in the
third.
"We got ourselves into some trouble early turning it over," Magic
coach Jacque Vaughn said. "But I love the urgency our guys were
playing with to get back in it. So I will take some good from this
one."
[to top of second column] |
Wall hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer before intermission to give the
Wizards a 54-51 advantage. He had 10 points and nine assists at
intermission.
The Magic shot 57.1 percent from the field (20 of 35) in the first
half but were hurt by those early turnovers, including eight in the
first nine minutes. They trailed by as many as seven points in the
first quarter.
Fournier led all scorers at halftime with 14 points. Vucevic
followed with 12, Nene with 11 and Gortat, Temple and Wall with 10
each.
The Magic last led 51-49 just before halftime.
Both teams were coming off double-digit losses in their openers. The
Magic lost by 17 points Tuesday in New Orleans. The Wizards were
beaten by 12 in Miami.
NOTES: Veteran F Channing Frye made his Magic debut on Thursday
night. Frye, a free agent signee this summer, missed Tuesday's
opener and the entire exhibition schedule with a strained left knee.
He played with a brace on the knee Thursday. ... F Kyle O'Quinn, who
started Tuesday for the Magic, sat out Thursday with a sprained left
ankle. The Magic, who lost all four regular-season games to the
Wizards last season, were without G Victor Oladipo, who is sidelined
indefinitely after surgery to repair a facial fracture. ... F Nene
and returned Thursday after missing the Wizards' opener Wednesday
night because of a one-game suspension that stemmed from leaving the
bench during an altercation against the Chicago Bulls earlier this
month. ... Wizards coach Randy Wittman is adamant about the kind of
team he needs and expects this season. "We've got to be a tough,
hard-nosed team," Wittman said before the game. "That's the way this
team's got to play."
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