Wizards 102, Knicks 101
Small forward Martell Webster scored 30 points off the bench, and guard Bradley Beal had 21, including the game-winning layup with 6.9 seconds remaining, as the Washington Wizards snapped a four-game losing streak with a 102-101 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Point guard John Wall had 20 points and eight assists for the Wizards (10-13), who lost their previous 10 games against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Returning to action after missing nine games with a stress injury in his right leg, Beal sank a 3-pointer to tie the game at 100-100 with 45 seconds remaining. After guard Beno Udrih made one of two free throws to put the Knicks in the lead, Beal drove past Udrih on an isolation play along the left wing.
Small forward Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (7-17) with 32 points, but he missed a running 3-point attempt at the buzzer. New York guard J.R. Smith broke out of scoring slump with 18 points. He hit five of 11 3-point attempts.
Knicks point guard Pablo Prigoni broke his right big toe in the third quarter, and he will be sidelined for two weeks, the team announced.
The Wizards blew a 15-point third quarter lead and trailed by six in the same period. With Wall resting, Washington regained the advantage as Webster scored 11 points during a 23-9 run. Beal's jumper with 5:53 remaining put the Wizards up 92-85.
The game of momentum swings saw the Knicks pull ahead 98-94 on a 13-2 run capped by Smith's 3-pointer with 2:17 remaining.
Webster made six 3-pointers, and Washington finished 11 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Guards Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 14 points for the Knicks, and Udrih had 12.
Washington won for the first time this season without power forward Nene, who missed his fourth consecutive game with right foot tendinitis. The Wizards lost seven in a row overall without Nene. Dating back to last season, they are now 4-24 sans the Brazilian big man.
NOTES: Before sitting out three weeks with a right leg stress injury, Washington G Bradley Beal led the NBA with 40.2 minutes per game. He replaced F Martell Webster in the starting lineup. ... Knicks G Pablo Prigioni made his fourth straight start and seventh this season, but he finished scoreless in 18 minutes. PG Raymond Felton sat out a fourth games due to a left hamstring strain. The Knicks also remain without F Kenyon Martin (abdominal strain) and C Tyson Chandler (right fibula). Out since Nov. 5, Chandler could return for New York's next game, in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Friday, coach Mike Woodson said pregame. ... The Wizards stay in the New York area to face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
