|
 Wall rallied the Washington Wizards to an 88-87 victory over the
Orlando Magic on Wednesday by scoring the winning basket with 12
seconds remaining to cap an impressive fourth-quarter flourish.
Wall had 12 points, three blocked shots and two steals in the final
12 minutes when he dominated both offensively and defensively as the
Wizards beat the Magic for the ninth consecutive time.
"I've been in the league long enough to know when it's time to get
the job done," he said. "It's my turn to make the pressure plays
down the stretch. That's my job, and I'm ready for it."
Wall hit a driving 5-foot floater for the decisive score that almost
was negated. On the ensuing possession, Wizards center Marcin Gortat
initially was called for goaltending on a shot by Tobias Harris with
3.5 seconds remaining, giving the Magic the lead. But officials
reversed the call after a video review and gave the Magic possession
again.
Center Nikola Vucevic missed a 15-foot jumper just as time expired.
Wall finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five
blocked shots. Guard Bradley Beal had a game-high 24 points and six
rebounds. Gortat contributed 10 points and eight rebounds, and
forward Chris Humphries had 11 points and six rebounds
The Wizards overcame 18 turnovers, poor shooting from the field
(39.3 percent) and and a five-point deficit with two minutes
remaining.
"It's hard to win in this league, so you take it any way you can,"
Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Every win is a good win. John has
this ability to read and anticipate, and knows the situation. He
knows when he has to take over."
The Magic were led by guard Victor Oladipo, who had 17 points and 11
rebounds. Point guard Elfrid Payton had 11 points, 10 rebounds and
eight assists. Harris added 15 points.
Orlando scored nine consecutive points for the 87-82 lead with 1:59
remaining, but the Magic never scored again.
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"That's a good team. They made the plays they had to make and we
didn't," Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "The guards (Wall and Beal)
hurt us, but they are going to hurt a lot of people."
The Wizards produced 12 consecutive points midway in the fourth
quarter, turning a 78-70 deficit into an 82-78 lead. Oladipo scored
early in the fourth for the Magic's eight-point lead, their biggest
of the game.
The Magic led 67-65 going into the fourth quarter. The Wizards, who
scored 31 points in the first quarter, managed just 12 points in the
third when they committed six turnovers and made only 4 of 17 shots
from the field.
NOTES: The Wizards began the night with an eight-game winning streak
against the Magic. "They just punked us, plain and simple," Orlando
G Victor Oladipo said. ... Magic PG Elfrid Payton, the only player
on the roster to see action in all 82 games last season, started
Wednesday after missing the final five exhibition games with a
hamstring strain. ... The Magic had all 14 players on their roster
healthy. The Wizards were without F Martell Webster (hip) and G Alan
Anderson (ankle). ... Wizards C Marcin Gortat was his usual
confident self on the eve of the opener. "Being the only big man in
the middle, everything is going to start and end with me," he told a
D.C. area radio station. ... Expecting to play at a faster pace this
season, the Wizards spent more time on conditioning in preseason. PG
John Wall said he was in the best condition of his career to start a
season.
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