Beal's shot at buzzer lifts Wizards past Magic

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) tips in the winning basket as time expires in front of OrlandoMagic guard Victor Oladipo (5) at the end of the second half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. The Wizards won 91-89. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bradley Beal converted a lob pass at the buzzer to lift the Washington Wizards to a 91-89 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

John Wall led the Wizards with 21 points and 11 assists, while Nene added 12 points, Kris Humphries scored 11 and Marcin Gortat 10. Washington, which scored the final seven points, beat Orlando for the seventh straight time.

Victor Oladipo had 17 points to lead the Magic.Tobias Harris added 15, Elfrid Payton had 12, and Channing Frye and Kyle O'Quinn added 10 each.

Both teams shot only nine free throws, marking the first time this season both teams shot fewer than 10 in a game.

The Magic led 89-84 after Harris' dunk with 1:37 left in the game, but couldn't score again.

Wall hit a pair of driving layups and Rasual Butler knocked down a free throw with 16 seconds left to tie the score at 89.

Oladipo, who had 13 points in the second half, missed a 20-foot jumper and Washington rebounded with 0.8 seconds on the clock. Andre Miller came off the bench and threw the lob pass at the rim. Beal outjumped Oladipo and laid it in as the buzzer sounded.

It was a disheartening defeat for the Magic, who came into the game with some momentum after road wins at Utah and Sacramento.

The Magic trailed 45-44 at halftime, but knocked down 12 of 17 shots in the third quarter, including four of five 3-pointers, to take a 75-67 lead. Oladipo led the way with nine points and two assists in the quarter as the Magic took advantage of Washington's slow-footed defense to shoot 71 percent for the period.

The teams traded baskets for much of the fourth quarter until Harris grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Frye and slammed it home to put Orlando up 89-84.

The Wizards had assists on 13 of their first 15 baskets and shot 52.6 percent in the first half, but all the sharing and shooting got them was a 45-44 halftime lead.

Harris and Payton had eight points apiece as the Magic relied on hustle, and several desperation shots that barely beat the shot clock to stay close in the first two quarters.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Nene returned to the lineup after missing Monday's double-overtime win over Boston with a sore knee. ... Washington is 12-0 when holding teams under 100 points this season. ... Paul Pierce, who was shooting 51.1 percent (55-109) in his last nine games, hit only 3 of 10 against the Magic.

Magic: C Nikola Vucevic,, the team's rebounder, missed his fifth straight game with a back sprain. ... F Tobias Harris came into the season a career 28-percent shooter on 3-pointers. He's shooting 43.4 (percent (23 of 53) this season. ... SG Evan Fournier hit his only 3-point attempt of the game to extend his streak to 29 straight games with a 3. That is the longest active streak in the NBA.

UP NEXT

Wizards: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Magic: AT Atlanta on Friday night.

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