Bogdanovic hits 8 3-pointers, Wizards beat Magic 115-114 (Mar 05, 2017)
WASHINGTON (AP) The Washington Wizards are quickly finding out just how valuable a bench scorer like Bojan Bogdanovic can be.
Bogdanovic scored 15 of his 27 points and made five of his career-high eight 3-pointers during the fourth quarter, and the Wizards came from 17 down to defeat the Orlando Magic 115-114 on Sunday.
Acquired in a trade with the struggling Brooklyn Nets, Bogdanovic connected on his final 3 to give Washington the lead for good with 48.6 seconds left.
''I felt today that I can not miss,'' a chuckling Bogdanovic said after his sixth game with the Wizards. ''I hope that every game I will have that feeling.''
Bradley Beal led Washington with 32 points, and John Wall had 19 points and 10 assists to help the third-place Wizards moved a game ahead of Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings.
On Friday, the Wizards lost to the Raptors despite erasing a 19-point deficit. And a second consecutive poor first half led coach Scott Brooks to have an animated halftime talk about an issue of slow starts that had also plagued his team during its early-season struggles.
''Coach basically chewed us out,'' Beal said. ''He basically (asked) us what team are we going to be? Are we going to be a team that doesn't respond well after the break and kind of tanks and falls, or are we going to do something about it and get our mojo back?''
Terrence Ross scored 20 points to lead seven players in double figures for the Magic.
Aaron Gordon had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Bismack Biyombo had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Orlando, which settled for a 2-2 season series split with Washington.
''We just blew it,'' Biyombo said. ''I don't think we as players had the right mindset. The last five minutes we were a little too confident with the way we were playing.''
Bogdanovic is shooting 59 percent (20 of 34) from beyond the arc coming off the bench since joining the Wizards. He was 8 of 10 on Sunday, including 5 of 6 in the fourth quarter, and three of his 3s either tied the game or put Washington back in front.
''The thing I like about him is he doesn't get nervous if he doesn't get touches or doesn't score the ball in a quarter because he's seen it many times before,'' Brooks said. ''This is not just new to him.''
Wall gave Washington its first lead after halftime, converting a three-point play to make it 97-96. That capped a 13-2 run and began a dramatic final six minutes.
Out of a timeout with just more than a minute to play, Bogdanovic hit his fourth 3 of the quarter off Wall's kick-out feed to make it 112-111.
Evan Fournier drove baseline, drew a foul and converted a three-point play to put Orlando back on top by two before Bogdanovic answered with another 3 off Otto Porter's feed 10 seconds later.
Gordon missed a jumper with 30 seconds left and a contested floater at the buzzer that would've won it for the Magic.
TIP-INS
Magic: Shot 14 of 35 from 3-point range. ... Surpassed their season average of 8.4 3-pointers a game by halftime, hitting 10 of their first 20 attempts. ... Biyombo's performance came in his first start since Jan. 8, while Nikola Vucevic sat out with a sore right Achilles.
Wizards: Only led once before halftime, 17-15, on Beal's step-back jumper. After that, he exited the game for several minutes with a mild left ankle sprain. ... Marcin Gortat picked up his second personal foul with 6:46 to play in the first quarter.
BENCH BEST
Bogdanovic's eight 3-pointers tied him with Houston's Eric Gordon and Cleveland's Kyle Korver for the most made off the bench in the NBA this season. It also marked a season high for any Wizards player.
COAST TO COAST
With only 21 games left on their schedule, the Wizards depart for the first of two five-game road trips that include West Coast stops. Their second one begins on March 25, just 12 days after the first one ends. Washington is 11-15 away from home.
UP NEXT
Magic: Close a back-to-back set at home against the New York Knicks on Monday.
Wizards: Begin their road trip at Phoenix on Tuesday.
