John Wall-less Wizards streaking into Philadelphia

Share

INDIANAPOLIS -- All-Star guard Bradley Beal scored 21 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 on Monday night to help the Washington Wizards hold on for a 111-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The Wizards have won five straight overall, all without John Wall, and four in a row over the Pacers.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points for the Pacers, trying to spur a fourth-quarter rally. Joe Young added 17 as Indiana's six-game home winning streak ended.

Without starting guards Victor Oladipo (illness) and Darren Collison (left knee surgery), the Pacers were out of sync all night.

The Wizards took full advantage.

Indiana missed its first six shots, allowing Washington to jump out to a 17-8 lead. The Wizards took control with a 13-0 run to make it 55-39 with 3:13 left in the first half.

The Pacers never got closer than seven again.

They cut the deficit to 58-50 at the half, then Washington scored the first two baskets of the second half to make it a 12-point game. A 9-0 run late in the third gave the Wizards a 79-62 lead, forcing the Pacers to scramble the rest of the night.

They never got closer than eight again (see full recap).

Pistons hammer Blazers for 4th straight win
DETROIT -- Andre Drummond had 17 points and 17 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-91 on Monday night for their fourth straight victory.

Detroit has won three in a row with Blake Griffin in the lineup after acquiring him in a trade last week. The victory Monday pulled the Pistons back to .500 and even with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Griffin had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and did a good bit of his offensive damage from the perimeter, making three 3-pointers. Anthony Tolliver added 15 points for Detroit, and Reggie Bullock and Langston Galloway contributed 13 apiece.

Damian Lillard scored 20 points and C.J. McCollum added 14 for the Blazers, who lost again after falling at the buzzer at Boston on Sunday. Portland was without Evan Turner on Monday because of a left calf injury.

Detroit led by 13 in the second quarter and was up 49-43 at halftime. The Pistons pushed the lead to double digits again in the third. A 9-0 run capped by Luke Kennard's 3-pointer made it 75-57.

Detroit was never seriously threatened in the fourth, and the game ended with several seldom-used reserves on the court (see full recap).

Hood scores 30 in victory for streaking Jazz
NEW ORLEANS -- Rodney Hood scored 30 points in his second game back from a lower leg bruise and the surging Utah Jazz extended their winning streak to six with a 133-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.

Ricky Rubio had 20 points and 11 assists, and Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who made 14 of 21 3-point attempts and shot 58.4 percent (52 of 89) overall their highest-scoring game this season.

Jrue Holiday scored 28 points, and Anthony Davis had 15 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which has lost four of five since losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to a season-ending left Achilles tear on Jan. 26.

The Jazz led by double digits most of the way and led by as many as 20 when Rubio's driving layup made it 116-96 in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Utah had six players score more than 10, including Derrick Favors with 19, Joe Ingles 18 and Royce O'Neale with 13.

Utah took its first double-digit lead less than four minutes into the game and was only briefly threatened after that. The Jazz led by 16 when O'Neale and Rubio hit back-to-back 3s to make it 52-36 early in the second quarter.

The Jazz hit 10 of 11 3-point shots in the half, when they shot 61.4 percent overall (27 of 44) (see full recap).

Contact Us