Field Level Media
Jan 30, 2018
The Washington Wizards responded to some bad news about five-time All-Star John Wall with a spirited 102-96 victory over the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night in Washington.
Otto Porter had 25 points while Bradley Beal added scored 21 for the Wizards, who snapped the visiting Thunder's league-best eight game winning streak. Washington's Markieff Morris finished with 18 points.
Wall will undergo a procedure on his sore left knee Wednesday, and he will be out six to eight weeks. Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond will replace Wall on Team LeBron in the 2018 All-Star Game on Feb. 18.
Tomas Satoransky, a second-year player from the Czech Republic, started in Wall's place and made a pair of free throws in the final minute to give the Wizards a lead they never surrendered. Satoransky had four points and six assists.
The Thunder are also dealing with injuries. Andre Roberson sustained a ruptured patellar tendon against the Pistons on Saturday and is out for the year.
Paul George scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half and Carmelo Anthony added 19 for Oklahoma City, which shot just 28.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Steven Adams contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook had 13 points and 10 assists.
On Thursday, Oklahoma City ran past Washington a 121-112. In that game, Westbrook was dominant at both ends of the floor and scored a season-high 46 points.
This time, the Wizards did a better job containing Westbrook, who was 5 of 18 from the field.
A free throw by George in the final minute of the third quarter gave the Thunder a 76-75 lead heading into the fourth. Neither team could pull away, and the clubs traded leads down the stretch.
The Wizards got some separation on a pair of free throws by Kelly Oubre Jr. that provided a 83-78 margin with 8:27 left in the game. However, Oklahoma City responded and tied the game, 86-86, on a 3-pointer by Alex Abrines with 6:43 left.
Layups by Adams and Anthony extended the lead to 90-86, forcing Washington to call a timeout. The Wizards would not go quietly and tied the game 92-92 on a dunk by Morris.
Satoransky had a key steal and then made a pair of free throws to provide Washington with a 98-96 lead with 39 seconds left. Anthony missed a jumper, forcing Adams to foul Porter, who made another pair of free throws to help seal the win.
--Field Level Media