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Wizards 115, Magic 106
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
WASHINGTON — Guard John Wall scored 27 points and forward Trevor Ariza had 22 as the Washington Wizards downed the Orlando Magic 115-106 on Tuesday night for their season-high fourth straight victory.
Playing without injured forward Nene, the Wizards (29-28) had four starters score at least 21 points, including center Marcin Gortat, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Washington led 62-53 at halftime, by 17 in the third quarter and never let the Orlando within six points over the final 14 minutes.
Ariza made all five of his 3-point attempts and the Wizards finished 10 of 16 from beyond the arc while moving above .500 for the second time this season.
Guard Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and forward Maurice Harkless had 22 for the Magic (17-42), who matched a single-season franchise-record with their 16th straight road loss.
Orlando has lost two straight games, both without guard and leading scorer Arron Afflalo (sprained right ankle) and four of five overall. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out.
Now 3-27 on the road, the Magic committed 17 turnovers, which the Wizards turned into 23 points. Washington finished with a 13-0 advantage in fast-break points.
Both teams sank over 61 percent of the field-goal attempts in the third quarter with D.C. area native Oladipo scoring 11 in the period. However, the Wizards ended the quarter with a 7-0 run for a 93-80 lead.
After Orlando briefly cut the margin to single digits, Ariza’s fifth 3-pointer gave Washington a 106-95 lead with 4:46 remaining. Guard Bradley Beal scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half.
Washington learned on Monday that Nene would miss six weeks with a sprained left MCL. The power forward suffered the injury during the third quarter of Sunday’s win at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Since acquiring Nene before the 2012 trading deadline, the Wizards were 7-34 without him in the lineup entering Tuesday. Further complicating the interior options, Kevin Seraphin sat with a right knee injury, leaving Gortat as the lone option at center.
Forward Trevor Booker replaced Nene in the starting lineup. He scored three points with his lone basket giving Washington an 86-69 third-quarter lead.
Forward Tobias Harris scored 11 points for the Magic, who have two games remaining on a four-game trip. Orlando’s last road win came on Jan. 2.
Washington improved to 2-0 in the season series. Orlando has won 11 of the 16.
The Wizards largely controlled the first half thanks to 18 points by Wall before the crowd of 13,306.
NOTES: Orlando previously lost 16 straight games in the same season between Jan. 27-March 21, 2006. … The Wizards won the first of four meetings 98-80 at home on Dec. 2. The final two games of the series will take place in Orlando. … The Magic added reinforcements by signing C Dewayne Dedmon and F/G Adonis Thomas to 10-day contracts out of the D-League. Dedmon, who previously played with the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers, averaged 15.2 points and 13.1 rebounds per game for the Santa Cruz Warriors. Thomas was with the Springfield Armor. … Game three of Orlando’s four-game road trip comes Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Wizards next play at the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
