Wizards 102, Knicks 91: John Wall had 24 points and 11 assists for his league-leading 17th double-double as visiting Washington beat New York to open the NBA’s Christmas Day slate.

Bradley Beal scored 17 points and Kris Humphries added 14 on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench for the Wizards, who had lost two straight. Washington experienced little resistance near the rim, scoring 50 points in the paint to go with a 45-36 rebounding edge.

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points as the Knicks dropped their sixth straight and 16th of 17 overall. Jose Calderon added 16 points for New York, which lost its eighth in a row at home to set a single-season franchise record.

Things got heated with 5:31 remaining in the fourth quarter when Knicks forward Quincy Acy fouled Wall, who responded with a shove before Acy appeared to throw a punch, leading to his ejection. Wall received a technical foul for his role, and New York got within 91-81 on the ensuing free throw but couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.

The Wizards scored a season-high 34 points in the first quarter and held an 11-point lead behind nine points and six assists from Wall. Anthony had 21 points in the first half to help the Knicks briefly cut the lead to single digits before Washington closed with a 7-0 run to take a 60-44 advantage into the locker room.

Game notebook: Washington won on Christmas Day for the first time since 1986. … The teams wore special holiday uniforms with the players’ first name on the back. … Knicks G J.R. Smith (heel) missed his eighth straight game.