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Wall, Wizards beat Knicks on Christmas Day

Dec 26, 2014 - 12:29 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.

Wall made a dazzling move late in the third quarter, hitting a reverse spinning layup, and then was involved in fourth-quarter scuffle. He took exception to a hard foul from Quincy Acy, retaliating with a shove. The New York forward swung his right arm as if to throw a punch before holding up.

Acy received a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected with 5:31 remaining. Wall received a technical foul.

Bradley Beal had 17 points and Kris Humphries scored 14 off the bench on 7- of-9 shooting for the Wizards, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a win in their first game on Christmas since 2008.

"We go as John goes and Bradley goes," said Wizards forward Paul Pierce. "We follow their lead on the court."

Washington earned its fourth straight win at Madison Square Garden and fifth overall against the Knicks, who have dropped eight consecutive home games, the longest streak in a single season in team history.

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and Jose Calderon added 16 for New York, which has lost 16 of its last 17 games overall.

"We have to start trying to put a whole game together," said Anthony. "We have spurts throughout the course of the game where we are showing something."

The Wizards got off to a strong start, scoring 11 of the game's first 13 points, and a Wall 3-pointer gave them their first double-digit lead at 18-8 midway through the opening quarter.

Rasual Butler nailed a 3 from the left corner off the last of Wall's six first-quarter assists to make it 34-20 with five seconds remaining. Shane Larkin knocked down a trey at the buzzer for the Knicks.

A theme in the first half was Washington's interior dominance. The Wizards outscored the Knicks 34-10 in the paint and went into the break up 60-44 when Wall burst down the lane for a layup with his right hand.

The basket was part of a 13-0 run that bridged the second and third quarters and left Washington with a 22-point lead.

Game Notes

The Knicks played their 50th game on the holiday, falling to 22-28 ... Marcin Gortat finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards ... New York was 4-of-22 from 3-point range.