Wizards seek 17th straight home win against Pelicans (Feb 04, 2017)
WASHINGTON - To get their 17th straight home victory, John Wall and the Washington Wizards need to defeat the Anthony Davis-led New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night.
Because the Wizards beat the Pelicans less than a week ago on unfriendly turf, the hottest team in the Eastern Conference should feel good about its chances.
Since Dec. 1, Washington (29-20) is 23-9 with 13 wins in its last 15 games and six straight. The current overall streak includes Thursday's 116-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers and a 107-94 win at New Orleans Sunday.
Wall had 33 points and 11 assists against the Lakers. Recently selected for his fourth All-Star game, the point guard is averaging a career-best 23.0 points. He leads all guards in the East with 10.3 assists and 2.2 steals.
"I don't know if he's ever had an All-NBA (selection), but he's an All-NBA player and that is elite of all of the All-Stars," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. "He's that type of player. He leads us -- not only his points, his rebounds, his assists, his steals, but his leadership."
Stats are one thing. Timing is another. After Los Angeles tied the score 91-91 with a 12-1 run opening the fourth quarter, Wall scored Washington's next eight points and finished with 16 in the final period.
"I was just trying to take it upon myself, but also play the right way," Wall said of playing the role of closer.
Just like the last two month, Wall had plenty of help.
Bradley Beal had 23 points and five 3-pointers for the Wizards, whose last home loss was Dec. 6 to Orlando. Marcin Gortat matched his season high with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Markieff Morris also had a double-double and Otto Porter, the NBA's leading 3-point shooter, sank three from beyond the arc.
"He's a hell of a player," Morris said of Wall. "Something that we're used to, makes those plays all the time and we expect it. If it wasn't him, somebody else has got to step up and make those plays. I think that's the type of team we have, we have multiple guys that make plays late."
Wall had a season-high 19 assists in the previous meeting with the Pelicans (19-31), helping to offset 36 points and 17 rebounds from fellow All-Star Anthony Davis.
That setback started a three-game losing skid for the Pelicans. Following an overtime loss at Toronto, New Orleans was pounded in Detroit on Wednesday. Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 38 points and made eight 3-ponters. The Pelicans committed 15 turnovers.
"This is not a fast-break team but we turn the ball over and they get 22 fast-break points because most of them come off our turnovers," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. "Until we take care of that problem right there, we're going to continue to be standing there and doing this (talking about a loss) on a lot of nights."
New Orleans commits only 12 turnovers per game, sixth in the league, but also went above its season average against Washington. Davis, who will join Wall during All-Star Weekend in the Skills Challenge, has committed at least five in three of his last four games.
"We have to stop punishing ourselves," Gentry said. "When we don't make those mistakes, we're a very good basketball team."
