Wizards stay hot, beat Pacers
WASHINGTON -- John Wall had 26 points and 14 assists as the Washington Wizards resumed to their winning ways at home with a 112-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
Markieff Morris finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards (32-21), who have won two straight and eight of nine. Bradley Beal scored 20 points.
Washington had won 17 straight home games and seven in a row overall before losing a thrilling 140-135 overtime matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
Morris sat out Washington's 114-110 overtime road win against the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday with a calf injury. The rest did him good as the starting power forward hit 11 of 18 shots with three 3-pointers in a matchup against two of the NBA's hottest teams.
Paul George scored 31 points for the Pacers (29-24). Indiana also had a seven-game winning streak ended by Cleveland this week. The Pacers fell 132-117 at home on Wednesday.
Washington won at Indiana 111-105 on Dec. 28. Since then the Wizards (16-5) and Pacers (14-5) had the second and third best overall records behind the Golden State Warriors entering Friday.
Washington led most of the fourth quarter, but couldn't shake Indiana until Morris drained a 3-pointer off a drive-and-kick feed from Wall for a 108-102 lead with 50.6 seconds remaining. Wall's two free throws with 5.8 seconds remaining sealed the Wizards' second win in three games against the Pacers this season.
Kevin Seraphin scored 16 points for the Pacers against his former team, and Jeff Teague had 13. Indiana shot 3 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards.
Each team committed only 11 turnovers, but Wall had seven for Washington.
Indiana shot 58.1 percent from the field in the first half and George scored 14 points, but it let a seven-point lead slip away before halftime. Morris had nine of his 15 first-half points in the second quarter, including a layup in the closing seconds to tie the score 59-59.
Washington has scored at least 100 points in 20 straight games.
NOTES: The Wizards assigned F Danuel House to the Delaware 87ers ahead of Friday's game. The undrafted rookie has only played one game for Washington after missing most of the season with a wrist injury. ... Washington and Indiana ranked first and second in opponent's turnovers entering Friday's game. ... Indiana returns home to face the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday for the second of four head-to-head matchups. The Pacers lost 125-107 at Milwaukee on Nov.3. ... Washington hosts Oklahoma City on Monday. The Thunder won the first meeting 126-115 in overtime on Nov. 30.