John Wall stars as Washington Wizards strike late to beat New Orleans Hornets, 99-89 - NBA Recap
On Thursday night, hours after making a multi player deal also involving the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards snapped a 3 game skid by defeating New Orleans Hornets, 99-89, here at New Orleans Arena.
Wizards traded their starting centre, JaVale McGee and one of their top scorers in Nick Young earlier in the day, but they didn’t shy away from handing a double digit defeat to the Hornets, who came into the game after a tough
game with the Los Angeles Lakers.
John Wall paved the way for his team by scoring a game high 26 points and 12 assists while Roger Mason Jr. delivered his career best 19 points, 17 of those in the second half, to help Washington grab their 10th victory
of the season.
Jordan Crawford was also in the mix as he poured in 17 while Trevor Booker collected 14 points. Kevin Seraphin barely missed a double-double with 12 points to go with 9 boards.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman lavished his players for displaying a brilliant show, despite the fact they lost their key players in the trade.
"I thought our guys, for the day being what it was, fought through a lot of adversity to come out here and get a win."
New Orleans on the other hand are in shambles as they lost to the two worst teams in NBA, Charlotte Bobcats and now Wizards, in the same week at home. Chris Kaman, who had been linked with the Boston Celtics on the frantic last
day of trade, netted 20 points for Hornets while Gustavo Ayon had 16, forward Trevor Ariza chipped in with 13 points.
Jarrett Jack recorded 11 and Greivis Vasquez collected 10 coming off the bench. The game remained fairly equal in the opening frame, as Chris Kaman and John Wall netted 12 apiece for their respective teams to tie the score at 28
each by the end of frame.
Lance Thomas created a breathing space at 31-28 for the Hornets early in the 2nd, but shortly afterwards the away side came up with 7 unanswered points and claimed a 34-31 advantage.
The game remained closely contested in the ensuing passage and deep through the frame the scores were at 48-45 with Washington in lead. They capped off the segment with a 8-4 run to grab a 56-49 advantage.
The Wizards started the third quarter on an eight-nothing run, 64-49, and stretched their lead to 68-52 midway through the frame. Hornets tried to claw that off with a huge 21-7 run and converted a double digit deficit to just
2 points, 73-75, by the end of period.
Midway through the decisive frame Hornets managed to claim a fragile 81-80 lead but Washington responded with a huge 17-2 to effectively seal the deal.
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