Rookie guard dazzles as Wizards conjure up a win
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Rookie point guard John Wall wowed the Washington crowd in his home debut by leading the Wizards to a thrilling 116-115 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
In a game that featured the top two picks in this year's draft, Wall nearly recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 13 assists and nine steals to overshadow first-year Philadelphia guard Evan Turner, selected second overall.
Washington's Cartier Martin took an inbounds pass from Wall and nailed a game-tying three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to force the game into overtime.
The winless 76ers (0-4) had a 115-114 lead with 14 seconds left in overtime but Andray Blatche drained two free throws that were enough to give Washington (1-2) its first win of the season as Andre Iguodala missed a shot as time expired.
"It's a great win for the team," Wall said after playing through an ankle injury he suffered in a previous game. "I thank the fans for supporting us and helping us come out with a tough win. Tonight we made the bigger plays."
Philadelphia's Lou Williams scored a game-high 30 points while Turner had nine points and six rebounds off the bench.
"Our guys fought so hard," Philadelphia first-year coach Doug Collins said. "(Martin) threw in an unbelievable shot."
In other games, it was: Celtics 109, Pistons 86; Hawks 100, Cavaliers 88; Heat 129, Timberwolves 97; Trail Blazers 90, Bucks 76; and Lakers 124, Grizzlies.
The New York Knicks-Orlando Magic game was postponed because of safety concerns after debris fell into Madison Square Garden during overnight cleaning of asbestos-related materials.
Bryant leads Lakers
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rajon Rondo had nine points and 17 assists to lead Boston over Detroit.
Rondo has 67 assists through Boston's first four games.
Kevin Garnett scored 22 points for Boston, which won easily despite Shaquille O'Neal's absence because of a bruised knee.
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored all of his 23 points in the first half to set up Los Angeles' win over Memphis.
Pau Gasol added 21 points and 13 rebounds for unbeaten Los Angeles, while Bryant fell one minute short of matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the Lakers' franchise leader in minutes played.
Rudy Gay scored 30 points for Memphis, and Mike Conley had 16 points and eight assists after agreeing to a five-year, US$40 million contract extension earlier in the day.
In Miami, the hosts rolled to their fourth straight win by crushing Minnesota.
Dwyane Wade had 26 points, while LeBron James added 20 points and a game-high 12 assists.
Wade made 12 of 17 shots in just 24 minutes for Miami, which has outscored opponents by 22.8 points per game since losing the season-opener in Boston last week.
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