John Wall scores 19 as Wizards beat Suns 88-79

[March 21, 2013]  PHOENIX (AP) -- John Wall scored 19 points and the Washington Wizards beat the Phoenix Suns 88-79 on Wednesday night for their first victory in the Valley in more than six years.

Nene had 17 points and eight rebounds, Kevin Seraphin added 16 points and Trevor Ariza scored 14 for the Wizards, who won for the fourth time in five games. Washington improved to 6-26 away from home, tying Charlotte, Philadelphia and Sacramento for the fewest road wins in the NBA.

The Wizards played without center Emeka Okafor, who missed his first game this season with an illness. Washington snapped a five-game losing streak in Phoenix and swept the Suns for the first time since 2001-02.

Wesley Johnson and Goran Dragic scored 18 points apiece and Luis Scola added 11 off the bench for the Suns, who have lost five of six.

Washington's Bradley Beal left the game with 9:53 remaining with a sprained left ankle.

Phoenix, already without center Marcin Gortat, saw backup center Jermaine O'Neal leave the game with 1:05 left with an apparent left leg injury. O'Neal was helped to the locker room by a pair of teammates after the game.

The Wizards, led by Seraphin's six points, opened the second quarter with a 17-4 run -- including a 15-0 spurt -- to take a 42-28 lead with 4:53 left in the first half.

Washington stretched its lead to as many as 18 before settling for a 59-45 halftime advantage.

The Suns cut the Wizards' lead to nine points by the end of the third quarter and pulled to 75-72 when Hamed Haddadi pulled down an offensive rebound and threw the ball on a straight line into the net with 8:38 remaining.

Seraphin answered with a 15-foot jumper and Wall added a pull-up 15-footer of his own to put the Wizards ahead 79-72 with 7:44 to play.

Washington led by no fewer than five the rest of the way.

NOTES: Beal was whistled for a technical foul on the same play on which he was injured. ... Earlier this season, Milwaukee snapped a 24-game losing streak in Phoenix. ... The Suns failed to reach the 100-point mark against Washington for the first time since March 21, 2003, a 19-game span. ... Washington also was without A.J. Price, who missed his fifth straight game with a sore right groin. ... Suns G Jared Dudley had been questionable 30 minutes before the game with flulike systems but came off the bench to play 8 scoreless minutes. ... Suns G Shannon Brown, who had played 8 minutes since the All-Star break, entered with 2:34 left in the third quarter and hit his first shot from the field. Brown had been a DNP in 13 of Phoenix's past 14 games.

[Associated Press; By JONATHAN DALTON]

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