WASHINGTON (AP) — Trevor Ariza scored 24 points and was one of seven Washington players in double figures as the Wizards defeated the Charlotte Hornets 130-126 on Saturday amid news five-time All-Star guard John Wall will have season-ending surgery.
Thomas Bryant added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Ariza had nine assists and seven rebounds for Washington, which won for the third time in 12 games.
The Wizards announced Saturday that Wall would undergo surgery to address bone spurs in his left heel and miss at least six months.
The Wizards also overcame an uncharacteristic 7-of-19 shooting from leading scorer Bradley Beal, who finished with 19 points. Tomas Satoransky added 20 on a night rookie Troy Brown was the only Wizards player not to reach double figures.
Kemba Walker scored 24 of his 47 points in the fourth quarter and nearly lifted Charlotte to a remarkable comeback when his 3-pointer cut the lead to a point with 1.9 seconds to play.
Nicolas Batum added 17 points for the Hornets, who fell to 4-11 on the road and are facing a six-game West Coast road trip early in January.
Washington went 20-21 last season without Wall, who missed many of those games while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
The Wizards are nine games below .500 (14-23) this season, despite Saturday’s victory.
The Hornets led only once after halftime, when Walker’s jumper made it 105-103.
However, Washington nearly squandered a 125-116 lead inside the final 25 seconds. Walker sank a technical free throw assessed to Beal, and Cody Zeller hit two more. Then, Walker hit two more jumpers, one following a turnover and the next off a pair of missed free throws by Satoransky. He then hit a 3 from the left wing to cut it to 127-126.
However, Jeff Green found Ariza on a full-court inbounds feed. Ariza was fouled by Walker and converted a three-point play to seal it.
LOST JOHN
The decision for Wall to have surgery came after visiting with Green Bay Packers associate team physician Dr. Robert Anderson on Saturday.
The Raleigh native had yet to address the surgical option publicly before to the game, although he walked through the Wizards’ locker room Saturday night with a gray protective boot on his left foot.
TIP-INS
Hornets: G Tony Parker did not travel with the team on a planned off day. … Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s put-back at the buzzer gave Charlotte a 29-27 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Wizards: F Markieff Morris will see a specialist about his continuing upper back and neck stiffness sometime next week, coach Scott Brooks said. . F Otto Porter Jr. (right knee) has been cleared to play, but Brooks wanted him to return to full practice first, rather than returning for the second of back-to-back games on Saturday. . Sam Dekker had 13 points off the bench after hitting his first six shots.
