Wall's wizardry guides Washington to win

Posted Sunday July 11, 2010 11:22PM

LAS VEGAS -- The Washington Wizards (1-0) defeated the Golden State Warriors (1-2) 84-79, Sunday evening in the NBA Summer League from the Cox Pavilion behind the efforts of John Wall and JaVale McGhee. The duo combined for 45 points, while Golden State's Reggie Williams racked up 34 in a losing effort.

The game was tightly contested from start to finish except for a span of 5:35 in the third quarter that witnessed the Wizards reel off a 12-0 run. With the game knotted at 44-44, Washington held Golden State scoreless from the 6:53 to 2:02 mark and without a field goal for 6:12. In all, the contest featured seven lead changes and 11 ties.

The Warriors tried fighting their way back into the game outscoring the Wizards by a 35-to-28 margin the remainder of the game. They pulled within two with 18.6 seconds remaining in the affair, but eventually fell by five.

When asked about his first professional game, Wall said, "It was good.

I hadn't played a game since Kentucky - all I've been doing is working out - so here was a lot of excitement in me. I was trying to go too fast and I was losing the ball, but when the time came, I slowed down and listened to Sam (Casell) and my coaching staff and they told me the right things to do."

McGhee, the recipient of Wall's helpers, followed closely behind with 21 points, while notching a double-double by adding in 13 rebounds.

The teams went back and forth from the get-go with Golden State claiming as much as a four-point lead on two different occasions, but they could never muster enough offense to pull away from Washington.

Williams was one of three Warriors to amass double-digits in the game.

He matched Wall's success rate from the free throw line with 10 conversions, of his own in 11 attempts. Kasib Powell and Kim Tillie joined Williams in the exclusive club, as they scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Wall and the Wizards are back in action tomorrow evening with a 7:00 pm tussle with the Los Angeles Clippers in the Cox Pavilion. Golden State returns on Tuesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm against the Miami Heat in the Thomas & Mack Center.

• Wizards: --
• Warriors: --

• Wizards: --
• Warriors: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 11

• Arena: Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, NV
• Officials: #62 Brian Forte, #46 Kim Hobbs, #0 Ralph Perez
• Attendance: -
• Duration: 1:45