WASHINGTON (AP) Bradley Beal scored 41 points, Markieff Morris had 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, and the Washington Wizards beat the Los Angeles Clippers 117-110 on Sunday.
John Wall added 18 points and 11 assists for the Wizards. They closed with a 22-8 run to win their third straight game and fifth in six.
Blake Griffin scored 26 points for the Clippers, but was held scoreless during a fourth quarter in which coach Doc Rivers was ejected.
DeAndre Jordan added 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 13 points and 12 assists. Los Angeles had won four in a row.
Washington shot 80 percent (12 of 15) from the floor in the fourth after already coming back from an 11-point deficit in the third.
After tying it seven times in the final period, Washington took its first lead after halftime on Morris’ alley-oop slam of Wall’s lob, making it 106-104 with 3:31 left.
Later, Morris’ leaning jumper after Jordan missed a pair of free throws made the lead six. Rivers received two technicals in the aftermath, and Beal hit both foul shots to make it 116-108 with 1:08 to play.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Griffin passed Elton Brand for third on the Clippers’ career scoring list. … F Luc Mbah a Moute (shoulder) returned to the starting lineup after missing two games. … G Austin Rivers picked up his fifth technical of the season late in the first half.
Wizards: F Kelly Oubre did not play and is in the league’s concussion protocol after running into a screen by Detroit’s Aron Baynes on Friday, coach Scott Brooks said. … F/C Jason Smith sat out with a right hamstring injury picked up in Friday’s game. … G/F Sheldon McClellan returned from an NBDL assignment.
AIR SHOW
Three of Griffin’s seven assists resulted in alley-oop dunks for Jordan, including a stunning reverse slam that made it 83-80 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
On the other end, Morris’ tomahawk dunk over Marreese Speights tied it 89-89 early in the fourth and brought the Verizon Center crowd to its feet.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Begin a three-game homestand against Denver on Tuesday night.
Wizards: Complete their sixth back-to-back set at Indiana on Monday night.
