Magic overcome John Wall’s 52 points, beat Wizards

I sit here with all my finals, as well as my fall semester finished and the Wizards are significantly under that mark (7-13).

With that much time left on a now-bargain contract, the Wizards are not likely to trade John Wall, at least not any time soon.

Washington missed a number of wide-open shots, especially in the first half, as Orlando took over.

The second half opened up with more of the same.

Orlando stretched to lead to 78-58 midway through the third quarter.

Washington finally showed some life late. This season, in particular, has made it apparent that the Wizards are ill-equipped to maximize Wall’s skill set, even as he pushes the bounds of his own talents. The guard made 18 of 31 shots from the field and added eight assists.

The Wizards pulled within 115-107 with 3:43 remaining, but Green’s 3-pointer capped a 5-0 spurt for Orlando and effectively ended any comeback hopes.

Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points as the New York Knicks won a fourth straight game by beating the Miami Heat 114-103.

It’s a different season, but it’s the same story.

In previous years, Garrett Temple, Paul Pierce and Ramon Sessions, to name a few, would join him if their time was requested by the media following a performance like this one – giving up 124 points in regulation to one of the NBA’s worst offensive teams.

Payton made his first nine shots and he was a flawless three for three from three-point range as the Magic posted their highest point total of the season. Led by Payton, Orlando’s bench outscored Washington’s 73-22.

Meanwhile, the Wizards have lost three of their last five games but they’ll be looking to build on last night’s 118-113 win at Brooklyn.

Orlando entered averaging an Eastern Conference-low 93.2 points.

For a team that has struggled to score points all year, the Magic feasted against DC, putting up 124 points on 52% shooting. Those four guys shot 64.9% from the field and 8/12 from downtown. The Magic are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the National Basketball Association using basically any metric you want and they shot 12-26 from deep tonight.

“Unacceptable”, Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of his team’s second-quarter defense. Otto Porter got in early foul trouble so he was useless, and Markieff Morris air balled a three point attempt which will haunt my nightmares until the next Wizards win. Everybody got a job where they have to go in and work hard, our job is to come in, play hard and compete.