Terry Rozier poured in 25 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. racked up 22 points as the Charlotte Hornets held on to beat the visiting Washington Wizards 117-116 on Friday night.
The Wizards had a fourth-quarter comeback fizzle when they failed to score on their final four possessions.
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Charlotte won despite not scoring for the last 3:45, managing only 10 fourth-quarter points after free-flowing offense for most of the first three quarters.
P.J. Washington hit five 3-pointers and ended up with 21 points for the Hornets, Mason Plumlee turned in 17 points and 10 rebounds and his backup at center, Nick Richards, supplied 12 points and nine rebounds.
Bradley Beal pumped in 33 points and Kristaps Porzingis provided 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wizards. Beal was 12-for-24 from the field.
Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert both had 14 points, Monte Morris finished with 12 points and Daniel Gafford had 10 points.
The Hornets put on an offensive display in the first half by bursting to a 74-59 lead by the break.
Charlotte looked in good shape through three quarters, but the Wizards put together a strong comeback. They outscored the Hornets 18-6 across nearly seven minutes to begin the fourth quarter.
The gap was down to 115-112 on Beal’s 3-pointer. Washington answered with a basket off a drive for his sixth field goal of the game but his first 2-pointer.
Beal’s layup made it 117-116 with 2:30 to play before the teams combined to go scoreless the rest of the way. Near the end of that stretch, the Wizards committed two turnovers before the final seconds when Beal’s potential winning shot was off the mark and Gafford couldn’t get a tip to fall.
Rozier didn’t play Monday night at Boston because of illness, but he appeared in good health for this game and logged a team-high 41 minutes. He was 8-for-21 from the field.
The Hornets shot 25-for-31 on free throws.
Since beating the Hornets at home Nov. 20, the Wizards have gone 1-5.
–Field Level Media
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