NEW ORLEANS -- For the first time in nearly four complete games, the Washington Wizards actually were on the wrong side of the scoreboard Sunday.

Just for a moment.

The Wizards had frittered away a 17-point halftime lead over the New Orleans Pelicans near the end of the third quarter to fall behind by one point and trail for the first time in a span of 177 minutes, 1 second, the longest current span in the NBA.

But, just as it has over the last two months in recording a 21-9 record, Washington flipped a switch.

Shooting guard Bradley Beal scored a team-high 27 points, forward Markieff Morris had 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and point guard John Wall had 18 points and a career-high-tying 19 assists to power the Wizards to a 107-94 victory.

The Wizards' 33-21 fourth quarter improved their record to 27-20. It was Washington's 11th victory in its last 13 games and fifth in its last seven road games.

"We got lackadaisical in the third, and we were definitely turning the ball over a lot," Beal said. "They came down and we weren't playing defense at all. They had a lot of open threes. ... But we did a good job of staying with it through adversity, staying together, and we got back to defending and scoring and getting out on the break."

The Pelicans erased a 57-40 halftime deficit behind forward Anthony Davis and guard Jrue Holiday, who combined to score 27 of their 33 points in the third quarter. Davis finished with 36 points and 17 rebounds while Holiday had 26 points and 11 assists.

"We gave them a few too many 'dare' shots," Washington coach Scott Brooks said. "Take away that seven minutes in that third quarter, it was a lot of good play by a lot of different players."

Davis canned a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put New Orleans ahead 73-72 in the final minute of the third quarter, but Wall hit an 18-foot jumper a few seconds later to regain the lead for good.

Morris then scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter for Washington, including a 3-pointer from the right wing to extend the Wizards' lead to 83-76. The Pelicans got as close as 87-84 on Davis' dunk with 6:51 left, but the Wizards responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Morris and Beal and a knifing layup by Wall to extend their lead to 95-84.

The Pelicans switched almost everything on defense, sometimes leaving Wall one-on-one against 7-footer Donatas Motiejunas. Wall continued to make every correct read en route to his 19 assists.

"It's something that we see every game, so it's not surprising to us," Morris said of Wall's playmaking ability. "If we made shots, he'd have 20 assists every game. He's a great player, the top point guard to me. He leads us and we just follow his footsteps."

"That's my job," Wall said of having more assists than points. "When I'm scoring, that's a big plus for our team, and I know I have to score at times. We have Brad who can score. 'Kieff can score. Everybody can get into a rhythm. My job is to play defense and try to set these guys up and be aggressive on both ends of the floor."

Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said his team's defense in the first half allowed Washington too many easy baskets. The Pelicans repeatedly were beat for backdoor layups.

"The back cuts and then some game-plan discipline things we didn't quite do," Gentry said. "(The Wizards are) really good at making you pay. They've probably played as well as anybody in the league the last month and a half. They've been really, really good. In order to beat this team, you've got to be really, really solid in what you're doing. I just thought we had way too many breakdowns."

The Pelicans finished 3-3 on their season-long six-game homestand, but they took some solace in beating Cleveland and San Antonio.

"We proved that we could play with everybody," Davis said. "Even though we proved something on this homestand and it was a good homestand, we don't have that much room for error especially in battling for the eighth spot and a number of teams doing so as well."

NOTES: Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he likes the way his team has played over the last two months. After a series of injuries contributed to a 2-10 start, the Pelicans have gone 17-18 entering Sunday's game against Washington. "I think that we've got multiple personalities, but I think that, for the most part, we've played pretty good and pretty solid," Gentry said. ... Gentry said the Pelicans can draw inspiration from the Wizards, who have rebounded from a 3-9 start and are fighting for the fourth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. "I think it gives you hope that, somewhere along the line, you can put together a string of wins where you can get back involved in the playoffs," Gentry said. ... Washington coach Scott Brooks said he was thrilled with his team's resilience after its slow start. "We're playing good basketball since December," Brooks said. "If we don't keep doing what we've done, that could change. We're getting healthy. Guys are comfortable playing alongside one another."