National Basketball Association
Washington 115, Orlando 114
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 5, 2017
Where: Verizon Center, Washington, District of Columbia
Officials:
#26 Pat Fraher, #71 Rodney Mott, #53 CJ Washington
Attendance:
19195
By The Sports Xchange
WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards already surrounded All-Star point guard and world class distributor John Wall with prolific 3-point shooters.
Then they acquired Bojan Bogdanovic before last month's NBA trading deadline. The Orlando Magic learned just how potent the new look has become.
Bogdanovic scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and made 8 of 10 3-pointers, including two in the final 1:06, as the Washington Wizards rallied for a 115-114 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
Washington (37-24) trailed by 17 points in the second half but avoided losing two in a row at home for the first time all season thanks to the new guy.
Bogdanovic, acquired from Brooklyn at the NBA trading deadline, sank his fifth and final 3-pointer of the fourth quarter for the game's final points with 46.8 seconds remaining. The wing threat also made six 3-pointers in Wednesday's win at Toronto.
Bradley Beal, owner of textbook perimeter shooting form, led the Wizards with 32 points and the praise of his new teammate postgame.
Houston's Eric Gordon and Cleveland's Kyle Korver are the only other reserves with at least eight 3-pointers in a game this season.
"He's making me feel bad," Beal joked about Bogdanovic. "I feel like I don't shoot enough 3's. ... We need him to continue to shoot the ball. He's a great scorer. We're happy to have him."
Wall finished with 19 points and 10 assists, including three in the final 5:15. Otto Porter, second in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this season, had 11.
"That's why he's one of the best point guards in the game, his passing," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. He also noted, "And you're out there with Porter and Beal, also. They're great, great shooters. It makes guarding John Wall very difficult."
Discussing the collapse was difficult for the Magic (23-40).
Orlando led 88-71 with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter only to trail 97-96 with 6:47 left in regulation as Wall's three-point play capped a 26-8 run by the Wizards.
Terrence Ross scored 20 points and Evan Fournier had 18 points for the Magic.
Fournier's three-point play put Orlando up by two before Bogdanovic's final deep ball. Aaron Gordon missed two potential go-ahead shots in the final minute, including a floater at the buzzer.
"Very disappointing," the somber Gordon said. "We made a couple of plays -- it was really defensive breakdowns that led to the open shots. (Bogdanovich) got it going, brought them back in the game."
Seven players scored in double figures for Orlando. Gordon and Elfrid Payton each had 15 points.
Washington finished 14 of 26 from beyond the arc. Orlando went 14 of 35.
Bogdanovic is 20 of 34 (58.8 percent) beyond the 3-point arc in six games with Washington.
"I never played with a better point guard in my career, and also a shooting guard like Brad," said Bogdanovic, who was 9 of 12. "John is trying to involve all of us."
Orlando outscored Washington 33-20 in the second quarter for a 61-49 halftime lead and used a 10-0 spurt in the third quarter for its largest advantage as Fournier's basket put the Magic up 17 points with 2:44 remaining in the third.
Magic starting center Nikola Vucevic (sore Achilles) did not play. Bismack Biyombo had 14 points and 15 rebounds in his place.
The Magic entered the game ranked 25th in 3-pointers per game with 8.4. They went 10 of 20 in the first half and led by as many as 16 points.
Mario Hezonja made all three of his attempts before halftime. He finished with 12 points.
Beal had 11 points in the first half despite briefly leaving the game with a mild left ankle sprain. He landed on Ross' foot after shooting a 3-pointer.
NOTES: Wizards G John Wall's 3-pointer in the first quarter moved him into eighth place on the franchise scoring list, passing Gilbert Arenas. ... Orlando hosts New York on Monday. The Knicks have won two of three against the Magic this season, including 101-90 in New York on March 1. ... Washington opens a five-game trip against Western Conference teams on Tuesday at the Phoenix Suns. The Wizards, 11-15 on the road this season, have a second five-game trip starting March 25.
Top Game Performances
Orlando |
|
Washington |
Terrence Ross 20 |
Scoring |
Bradley Beal 32 |
D.J. Augustin 4 |
Assists |
John Wall 10 |
Bismack Biyombo 15 |
Rebounds |
Marcin Gortat 11 |
Bismack Biyombo 4 |
Free Throws Made |
John Wall 6 |
Bismack Biyombo 2 |
Steals |
Bradley Beal 2 |
Terrence Ross 2 |
Blocks |
Ian Mahinmi 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Orlando
|
114 |
49.4 |
14-35 |
12-19 |
16 |
43 |
3 |
9 |
15 |
Washington
|
115 |
48.1 |
14-26 |
23-25 |
26 |
38 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
Upcoming Games
-
Washington will play their next game on the road against Phoenix. The Wizards have a W/L % of .568 after a win and .667 after a loss.
-
Orlando will play their next game at home against New York. The Magic have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .436 after a loss.