WALL, BEAL TORCH HORNETS IN THIRD
WA SH I N GTON— John Wall and Bradley Beal combined for 19 of their 45 points in the third quarter, Washington’s highest-scoring period this season, and the Wizards came back to beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-106 Wednesday night, handing the Southeast Division leaders their third consecutive loss.
Wall, wearing bright orange neon shoes, out- played Hornets star Kemba Walker, finishing with more points (25-17) and assists (10-9), along with seven steals to become Washington’s franchise leader in that category.
Beal, 0 for 6 in the first half, took over for part of the third, scoring 11 points, mostly via a trio of 3s, and finished with 20 points and a career-high nine assists.
Charlotte got within two on Cody Zeller’s la- yup with 10.6 seconds remaining. Wall made one of two free throws a second later, and Nicolas Batum and Walker both missed 3s that would have tied it.
In the third, Washington went from trailing by 10 points to leading 7971 thanks to a 23-5 burst, part of a 38-23 edge in the quarter.
Charlotte (14-12) is 0-3 to start a five-game road trip.
Grizzlies 93, Cavaliers 85
In Memphis, Troy Daniels scored 20 points and Marc Gasol had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Memphis over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, who left their top three players at home to rest.
Tony Allen added 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals as the Grizzlies won for the seventh time in eight games. The only loss during that stretch was a 110-89 defeat Tuesday night in Cleveland.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love did not make the trip for the Cavs, leaving an average of more than 70 points per game back in Cleveland.
The result was the Cavaliers setting a season low for points and hitting only nine 3-pointers — matching their fewest in a game this season.
James Jones led Cleveland with 15 points.
Jazz 109, Thunder 89
In Salt Lake City, Rodney Hood scored 25 points and Utah defeated Oklahoma City to break a tie between the teams atop the Northwest Division.
Utah led from start to finish behind 58.3 percent shooting and showed why it’s one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, holding the Thunder to 36.6 percent from the field.
Gordon Hayward scored 17 for the Jazz, who have won nine of 11. Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Spurs 108, Celtics 101
In San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and San Antonio played its second consecutive solid home game in holding off Boston.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker had 16 points, including 10 in the final period.