John Wall saves Wizards in regulation, seals 2OT win over Hornets

Eric Freeman

The Washington Wizards have had a disappointing second half of the season, but the continued strong play of John Wall has been a saving grace. Although not without his share of stinkers, the All-Star point guard has played up to his reputation and kept the Wizards within shouting distance of homecourt advantage in the first round. Even when the Wizards eventually lose, Wall usually does his part.

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Wall kept Washington in another game Friday night, although this time it ended with a victory. Down 96-94 to the Charlotte Hornets with seconds on the clock, the Wizards got the ball to Wall off the inbounds pass and saw him send the game to overtime for the second consecutive game with a pull-up jumper:

The teams each scored five points in the first extra period, but the Wizards gained some separation in the second OT. Wall came up big again with five seconds remaining to give his team a three-point lead on this jumper:

Al Jefferson missed a not-so-ideal 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Wizards finished with a 110-107 win to end a four-game losing streak. Wall scored a game-high 32 points and added nine rebounds and six assists, while Drew Gooden and Marcin Gortat combined for 32 rebounds (10 offensive). Jefferson led the Hornets with 31 points and 10 boards.

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With the fourth-place Toronto Raptors defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, the Wizards did not benefit from their win and remain two games back. Nevertheless, it was an important result for a struggling team, particularly with a nationally televised game with the Houston Rockets coming up on Sunday.

The loss dropped the Hornets into sole possession of 11th place in the East, a half-game behind the idle Indiana Pacers and 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Celtics (winners over the New York Knicks on Friday) for the conference's final playoff berth. Charlotte is close enough to eighth place that they have no reason to consider themselves out of the race, but every loss takes on added significance with so many teams jockeying for one spot.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!