Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

Wall, Wizards knock off Knicks
ASSOCIATED PRESS,

John Wall had 21 points and nine assists, Trevor Ariza scored 20 points and the Washington Wizards broke the New York Knicks' five-game winning streak with a 106-96 victory on Wednesday night.

The Wizards also snapped New York's 10-game winning streak over them.

Wall, playing in front of his college coach, John Calipari, and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as Washington took control.

Ariza, who missed 17 games with a left calf injury earlier this season, has played solidly and more often in recent games, and his four-point play to start the fourth quarter gave the Wizards a 74-73 lead. His 3-pointer pushed Washington's advantage to 88-80 with 8:36 to play.

New York never got closer than 97-92 with 2:57 to play and the Wizards pulled away at the end.

Martel Webster added 19 for Washington, which has won just 13 games, but has beaten five of the six NBA division leaders.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 31 points. Amare Stoudemire scored 19 and Raymond Felton had 17.

It was a highly entertaining first quarter with both teams shooting over 50 percent and only five combined fouls. Washington raced to a 16-5 lead in the first 4 1/2 minutes, but New York led 29-28 after one.

The second quarter was a much slower-paced one, with neither team taking more than a four-point lead and the Wizards scoring the last six points of the half to lead 51-48 at the break.

In the third, Washington took a seven-point lead early in the quarter, but the Knicks scored nine straight points near the end and led 73-70 going to the fourth.

Clippers 86, Magic 76: Eric Bledsoe had 27 points, including 19 in the second half, and Los Angeles used a big third quarter to secure the win.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak for Los Angeles, which has three games remaining on its eight-game road trip.

The Clippers won despite playing without their three top scorers in All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and Jamal Crawford. Paul remains sidelined with a bruised right kneecap and Griffin sat with a strained hamstring. Crawford was out with a sore right shoulder.

Cavaliers 122, Bobcats 95: Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in just three quarters, rookie Dion Waiters added 19 and Cleveland didn't overlook a team with a worse record than its own.

Tristan Thompson scored 17 for the young-and-improving Cavs, who are 8-9 since Jan. 1.

Byron Mullens scored 15 to pace Charlotte. Bobcats leading scorer Kemba Walker, averaging 17.8 points per game, had just five on 2-of-11 shooting.

Celtics 99, Raptors 95: Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 27 points with 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Boston won its fifth straight game.

Courtney Lee added 15 points, Leandro Barbosa had 14, Avery Bradley 11 and Brandon Bass 10 as the Celtics remained unbeaten since losing guard Rajon Rondo to a season-ending knee injury.

Nets 93, Pistons 90: Brook Lopez had 17 points, and Brooklyn won at Detroit for the first time since 2006.

Will Bynum's tying 3-point attempt from the right corner was short in the final seconds.

Joe Johnson scored 16 points for Brooklyn, including two free throws with 8.8 seconds left that made it a three-point game.

Hawks 103, Grizzlies 92: Jeff Teague had 22 points and a season-high 13 assists and Josh Smith added 19 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta.

Al Horford finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help the Hawks snap a two-game skid.

Zach Randolph scored 20 points and Mike Conley added 17 as the Grizzlies lost their second straight.

Thunder 119, Warriors 98: Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Russell Westbrook added 22 and Oklahoma City throttled travel-weary Golden State to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly three weeks.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors didn't get settled in Oklahoma City until almost daybreak and it showed in the early going. The Thunder finally put it away with a 16-4 run to start the fourth quarter that featured 10 points from sixth man Kevin Martin.

Heat 114, Rockets 108: LeBron James scored 32 points and Dwyane Wade added 31 points and eight assists to lead Miami.

Shane Battier scored 12, Norris Cole added 10 and Udonis Haslem grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami, which moved to 20-3 at home.

Hornets 93, Suns 84: Greivis Vasquez scored 19 points, Al-Farouq Aminu added 16, and New Orleans snapped a four-game losing streak.

Mavericks 105, Trail Blazers 99: O.J. Mayo scored 28 points and Vince Carter hit a critical jumper in the final minute to give coach Rick Carlisle his 500th career victory.

Jazz 100 Bucks 86: Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson each scored 19 points and Enes Kanter had 17 and a career-high five blocks for Utah.