WASHINGTON — John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 19 of their 45 points in the third quarter, Washington’s highest-scoring period this season, and the Wizards came back to beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-106 Wednesday night, handing the Southeast Division
WASHINGTON — John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 19 of their 45 points in the third quarter, Washington’s highest-scoring period this season, and the Wizards came back to beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-106 Wednesday night, handing the Southeast Division leaders their third consecutive loss.
Wall, wearing bright orange neon shoes, outplayed Hornets star Kemba Walker, finishing with more points (25-17) and assists (10-9), along with seven steals to become Washington’s franchise leader in that category.
Beal, 0 for 6 in the first half, took over for part of the third, scoring 11 points, mostly via a trio of 3s, and finished with 20 points and a career-high nine assists.
Charlotte got within two on Cody Zeller’s layup with 10.6 seconds remaining. Wall made one of two free throws a second later, and Nicolas Batum and Walker both missed 3s that would have tied it.
In the third, Washington went from trailing by 10 points to leading 79-71 thanks to a 23-5 burst, part of a 38-23 edge in the quarter.
Charlotte (14-12) is 0-3 to start a five-game road trip.
GRIZZLIES 93, CAVs 85
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Troy Daniels scored 20 points and Marc Gasol had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Memphis over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, who left their top three players at home to rest.
Tony Allen added 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals as the Grizzlies won for the seventh time in eight games. The only loss during that stretch was a 110-89 defeat Tuesday night in Cleveland.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love did not make the trip for the Cavs, leaving an average of more than 70 points per game back in Cleveland.
James Jones led Cleveland with 15 points.
JAZZ 109, THUNDER 89
SALT LAKE CITY — Rodney Hood scored 25 points and Utah defeated Oklahoma City to break a tie between the teams atop the Northwest Division.
Utah led from start to finish behind 58.3 percent shooting and showed why it’s one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, holding the Thunder to 36.6 percent from the field.
Gordon Hayward scored 17 for the Jazz, who have won nine of 11. Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Russell Westbrook paced the Thunder with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists. He shot 7 for 25 from the floor.
Enes Kanter scored 19 for Oklahoma City against his former team.
SPURS 108, CELTICS 101
SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and San Antonio played its second consecutive solid home game in holding off Boston.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker had 16 points, including 10 in the final period.
Pau Gasol had 17 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio, which has won three straight at the AT&T Center after dropping three of its first four at home. The Spurs (20-5) are 7-4 at home after matching an NBA record with a 40-1 mark last season.
The Spurs had 33 assists on 44 field goals while shooting 55 percent from the field and winning their 11th straight over Boston.
Boston was without injured leading scorer Isaiah Thomas. San Antonio rested starting power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, and both teams showed off their depth.
Avery Bradley had 25 points and 10 assists for the Celtics.
HEAT 95, PACERS 89
MIAMI — Hassan Whiteside had 26 points and 22 rebounds, Tyler Johnson scored 15 off the bench and Miami beat Indiana.
James Johnson added 14 points for the Heat, who outrebounded Indiana 58-38 and won consecutive games at home for the first time all season.
Paul George scored 22 for the Pacers.
RAPTORS 123, 76ERS 114
PHILADELPHIA — DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points and Kyle Lowry added 20 in his Philadelphia homecoming to help Toronto win its fourth straight.
DeRozan had 31 points through three quarters in his second consecutive 30-point game. The Atlantic Division-leading Raptors (18-7) have won 10 of 11 and are 11 games over .500 for the first time this season.
Robert Covington led the Sixers with 26 points.
CLIPPERS 113, MAGIC 108
ORLANDO, Fla. — Austin Rivers made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points in his return from a concussion to help Los Angeles beat Orlando for its third straight victory.
Rivers hit the key shot when he buried a 3 from the corner with 2 minutes left to give the Clippers a nine-point lead.
Blake Griffin added 23 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan, who often struggles from the foul line, made 12 of 18 free throws.
Aaron Gordon had 33 points for the Magic, and Evan Fournier added 24.
ROCKETS 132, KINGS 98
HOUSTON — James Harden had a triple-double — 15 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds — in just three quarters to lead Houston past depleted Sacramento for its eighth straight win.
The Rockets have the longest current winning streak in the NBA and the team’s longest since 2014.
The Kings played without three starters: Rudy Gay (hip flexor strain) and Ben McLemore (left quadriceps contusion) were out with injuries, and DeMarcus Cousins received a planned day of rest. Sacramento was led by Garrett Temple’s 20 points.
Ryan Anderson had 22 points and Sam Dekker scored a career-high 19 for Houston.
NETS 107, LAKERS 97
NEW YORK — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points, Sean Kilpatrick had 22 and Brooklyn sent Los Angeles to its eighth straight loss.
Brook Lopez added 20 points for the Nets, who played without Jeremy Lin again but avoided a third consecutive defeat. Trevor Booker grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds.
Lou Williams scored 16 points for the Lakers, who have fallen from a .500 team early in Luke Walton’s first season as coach to one that is 10-18. They shot 38.5 percent from the field and were dismal as well from 3-point range (22 percent) and the free throw line (61.8).
PISTONS 95, MAVERICKS 85
DALLAS — Reggie Jackson scored 20 points and Andre Drummond led a dominant rebounding effort with 17 as Detroit topped Dallas.
Jon Leuer had a season-high 19 points off the bench as the Pistons beat the team with the worst record in the Western Conference three nights after losing to Philadelphia, the last-place team in the East.
Drummond had 10 rebounds in the first 7 1/2 minutes and the Pistons had a 29-9 edge on the boards at halftime and 50-30 for the game.
Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 19 points.
