ORLANDO — Guard John Wall scored 22 points, including the winning basket with 12 seconds remaining, to lead the Washington Wizards to an 88-87 victory over the Orlando Magic Wednesday night.
Guard Bradley Beal had 24 points and six rebounds for the opening night victory. The Magic were led by guard Victor Oladipo, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Forward Chris Humphries had 11 points and six rebounds for the Wizards. Center Marcin Gortat had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Point guard Elfrid Payton had 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Magic. Center Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and seven rebounds. Reserve Aaron Gordon had 12 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Mario Hezonja had 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
The Magic scored nine consecutive points for an 87-82 lead with 1:59 remaining, but they couldn’t hold on. Hezonja hit a 3-pointer and Harris had two baskets in that flurry.
The Wizards scored 12 consecutive points midway in the fourth quarter, turning a 78-70 deficit into an 82-78 lead. Oladipo scored early in the fourth for the Magic’s eight-point lead, their biggest of the game.
The Magic led 67-65 going into the final period. The Wizards, who scored 31 points in the first period, managed just 12 points in the third when they committed six turnovers and made only four of 17 field-goal attempts.
The Wizards led, 53-51, at intermission, riding the backcourt of Beal and Wall, who had 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the first half. Wall had eight of his points in the first seven minutes, then turned his attention to assisting Beal.
The Wizards led by as many as nine points early, but the Magic rebounded to take a 43-38 lead in the second period. Magic rookie guard Mario Hezonja, the No. 5 pick of the draft from Croatia, hit a 3-pointer just 20 seconds after entering the game late in the first quarter for his first NBA points.
Oladipo led the Magic with eight points in the first half, but he made only four of his 13 shots and missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Forward Chris Humphries sparked the Wizards late in the second period when he scored all nine of his first-half points.
NOTES: The Wizards began the night with an eight-game winning streak against the Magic. “They just punked us, plain and simple,” Orlando G Victor Oladipo said. … Magic PG Elfrid Payton, the only player on the roster to see action in all 82 games last season, started Wednesday after missing the final five exhibition games with a hamstring strain. … The Magic had all 14 players on their roster healthy. The Wizards were without F Martell Webster (hip) and G Alan Anderson (ankle). … Wizards C Marcin Gortat was his usual confident self on the eve of the opener. “Being the only big man in the middle, everything is going to start and end with me,” he told a D.C. area radio station. … Expecting to play at a faster pace this season, the Wizards spent more time on conditioning in preseason. PG John Wall said he was in the best condition of his career to start a season.