Final
Wall, Wizards down Magic
Oct 31, 2014 - 4:23 AM Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall had 30 points and 12 assists as the Washington Wizards defeated the Orlando Magic 105-98 on Thursday night.Marcin Gortat posted 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul Pierce supplied 16 points for the Wizards, who bounced back from a season-opening loss at Miami Wednesday.
"We created more offense from our defense than our eight preseason games and the one last night," Wizards head coach Randy Whittman said.
Nene added 12 points, five assists and three steals in his season debut after serving a one-game suspension after leaving the bench during a scuffle with Chicago in the preseason.
Nik Vucevic provided 23 points and 12 rebounds, Ben Gordon netted 22 points off the bench and Evan Fournier put in 21 for Orlando, which fell to New Orleans on Tuesday.
"I loved the urgency they played with once they got down," Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn said.
After Wall sunk two free throws to stake Washington to a 94-83 advantage midway through the fourth, Fournier knocked down a 3-pointer to pull the Magic within 96-93 with 3:27 left.
Pierce sandwiched a pair of jumpers around two Fournier free throws for a 100-95 Wizards lead with 1:53 remaining.
Tobias Harris turned the ball over and Vucevic missed a jumper on consecutive possessions before Gordon hit all three of his free throws after being fouled from beyond the arc to whittle the gap to 100-98 with 44.1 ticks on the clock.
Wall responded with a driving layup at the other end and scored the final five points in all to seal the outcome.
Earlier, Washington led 28-23 after a quarter of play and Wall nailed a triple at the first-half buzzer for a 54-51 edge heading into the locker room.
Wall scored six points and Pierce netted the final five during a 15-4 Washington surge in the third, giving the Wizards a healthy 72-57 spread midway through the frame.
The Wizards built that margin to as high as 17 before settling for an 82-66 cushion heading into the final frame.
Game Notes
Washington was 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc and scored 17 points off 18 Orlando turnovers ... Orlando shot 51.4 percent (37-of-72) from the floor.
- WASHINGTON: 105
ORLANDO: 98
Final
Oct 30 9:35 PM - WASHINGTON: 82
ORLANDO: 66
End of 3rd
Oct 30 8:51 PM - WASHINGTON: 54
ORLANDO: 51
Halftime
Oct 30 8:10 PM - WASHINGTON: 26
ORLANDO: 23
End of 1st
Oct 30 7:38 PM - WASHINGTON: 0
ORLANDO: 0
1st Quarter - 11:44
Oct 30 7:14 PM
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