Porter, Wall help Wizards whip the Pelicans

WASHINGTON >> Otto Porter Jr. scored a season-high

29 points, John Wall had 22 points and eight assists, and the Washington Wizards beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-114 Saturday night.

Austin Rivers had 12 of his

18 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who shot a season-high 56.7 percent

(51 of 90) from the floor in a game between the league’s second- and third-worst defenses entering Saturday.

Bradley Beal also finished with 18, one of six Wizards to score in double figures on a night the Pelicans were without injured All-Star forward Anthony Davis.

Julius Randle tied a season high with 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He started in place of Davis, who was ruled out during pregame warmups after straining his right hip in Friday’s loss at the New York Knicks. NUGGETS 105, THUNDER 98 >> Jamal Murray scored 22 points to help Denver beat Oklahoma City. Nikola Jokic and Trey Lyles each scored 16 points and Juancho Hernangomez added 15 for the Nuggets, who won their third straight.

Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season and the 106th of his career. Paul George had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 18 points for the Thunder.

TIMBERWOLVES 111, BULLS 96 >> Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 22 rebounds, Derrick Rose scored 22 points off the bench and Minnesota pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago.

Jeff Teague added 18 points for Minnesota, which won for the fifth time in seven games since trading Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia. Both the Timberwolves and Bulls were playing the second game of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights in a listless, sloppy affair.

Zach LaVine scored 28 points and Jabari Parker had 27, keeping their streak of 20-point games intact. Both players have reached 20 points in the past three games, but Chicago lost for the sixth time in seven games. CAVALIERS 117, ROCKETS 108 >> Rookie Collin Sexton scored a season-high 29 points and Cleveland overcame 40 points by Houston’s James Harden to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

Sexton, taken with the eighth pick in the draft, was 14 for 21 from the floor and hit several key baskets in the second half as the Cavaliers held off multiple runs from the Rockets.

ON THIS DATE IN DELCO ...