Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) dribbles the ball downcourt during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Washington on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015. The Wizards won 109-101. AP
WASHINGTON—John Wall had 27 points and 12 assists, Garrett Temple scored a career-high 21 points and the Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-101 on Saturday night.
Wall scored 20 points in the first half and then drilled a key jumper with just over 2 minutes left in the game after the Hornets nearly erased a 15-point deficit. Cody Zeller’s layup cut the lead to 99-98 with 2:24 to play.
Jared Dudley matched a season high with 19 points and Marcin Gortat had 18 points for Washington.
Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 18 points, and Jeremy Lin had 15.
In the teams’ first meeting of the season, the Wizards scored just six points in the fourth quarter in a 101-87 loss on Nov. 25.
The Wizards wore uniforms honoring the Baltimore Bullets, the franchise’s name more than 40 years ago.
Washington went on a 16-3 run late in the third quarter to take an 86-72 advantage.
With just 10 healthy players, Wizards coach Randy Wittman used an eight-man rotation.
There were 13 lead changes in the first half, the last when Washington took the lead with 3:18 to play in the second quarter.