Wizards keep rolling, thwart Magic comeback bid

CJ McCollum scored 27 points and Alex Sarr added 23 to go along with eight rebounds, fueling the host Washington Wizards to a 120-112 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

Justin Champagnie had 17 points off the bench for Washington, which made 31 of 33 shots from the free-throw line.

Bilal Coulibaly recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Wizards, who have won five of their last seven. Washington also avenged a 125-94 setback to Orlando on Nov. 1.

Orlando rookie Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Desmond Bane scored 15 points, Paolo Banchero had 14 and Tristan da Silva added 13 for the Magic, who committed 19 turnovers that led to 29 points by Washington.

Orlando has alternated wins and losses over its last 10 games.

The Magic whittled a 26-point deficit down to two thanks to an 18-6 run to start the fourth quarter. Richardson drained a running 3-pointer and Goga Bitadze added a dunk to cap that sequence and cut the Wizards' lead to 107-105.

Sarr responded by converting an alley-oop on the next possession before blocking Jett Howard's drive to the basket. McCollum made a mid-range jumper and two 3-pointers to extend Washington's advantage to 117-107 with 1:52 to play.

Bane made a driving layup before Bub Carrington responded with a fadeaway jumper, igniting a 34-21 run that bridged the first and second quarters to stake Washington to a 62-50 lead. Sarr scored seven points over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the second quarter.

The Wizards extended their advantage to 89-63 with 4 ½ minutes left in the third quarter on the strength of a 25-9 surge. Sarr began that run with a three-point play before Champagnie capped the sequence with a pair of 3-pointers.

--Field Level Media