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WASHINGTON -- Whether or not the NBA calendar suggests it's too early for a must-win game, the Washington Wizards needed one, badly. Thanks to stellar 3-point shooting and an intact starting lineup, they got what they needed. John Wall had 23 points and 11 assists as the Washington Wizards snapped a three-game losing streak with a 119-112 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night.
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The Wizards (3-8) returned home after a demoralizing 109-102 loss Wednesday to a one-win Philadelphia 76ers squad during which they trailed by as many as 24 points.
Washington reversed course dramatically by sinking 15 of 25 3-pointers and limiting New York's offense for most of the game.
Otto Porter scored 21 points as Washington led by 27 points in the second half. Bradley Beal had 18 points in his return after missing the previous three games with a hamstring injury.
"We definitely needed this," said Porter, who also impressed defensively against New York star Carmelo Anthony. "Coming out with a mindset of being aggressive and being physical."
Derrick Rose had 27 points for the Knicks (5-7), who had won two straight. Anthony scored 19 points on 17 field goal attempts.
New York scored 47 points in the fourth quarter, but inconsistency put them in trouble.
Washington led 52-42 at halftime before outscoring New York 35-23 in the third quarter. Marcus Thornton added 13 points off the bench for Washington. His 3-pointer gave the Wizards an 87-60 lead.
"It takes a lot of effort. A lot of energy," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek of remaining focused when playing back-to-back games. "I think the guys played a lot of minutes last night. That probably didn't help as much in terms of them having that type of effort that you need to stop some guys."
Down 22 points with 4:33 remaining, the Knicks scored 12 straight points deep into the fourth quarter. That forced the Wizards to put their starters back into the game, but New York couldn't pull closer than seven points.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 16 points in 37 minutes one night after pouring in a career-high 35 over 40 minutes in New York's 105-102 win over the Detroit Pistons.
"I think they were playing tighter defense than they were last night," the second-year standout said. "Maybe I should have been more aggressive."
"He's going to have to learn how to play in back-to-back games," Hornacek said of Porzingis. "It's tough on a guy that's 7'3". That was probably my fault for playing him so much last night. We were trying to get the win last night. He played great. We just have to keep going."
Marcin Gortat had 16 points and for Washington.
Brandon Jennings had 17 for the Knicks, who labored on both ends of the court in the first half. Porter scored 13 points and Washington started 8 of 10 from beyond the 3-point arc while shooting 51.2 percent from the field. New York missed 9 of 11 3-pointers and shot 37.5 percent overall before halftime.
New York finished 12 of 29 from beyond the arc and 47.7 percent from the field.
Wall made all three of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter as Washington shot 61.9 percent from the field in the period.
"We played a great basketball game for us (especially) after a tough loss last night," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. "Guys really competed, moved the ball. Having Brad out there, we're a different team."
NOTES: Head-to-head with New York, Washington owns a three-game winning streak and has 10 wins in the past 11 meetings. The sides will meet three more times this season. The Knicks last won the season series in 2012-13. ... New York coach Jeff Hornacek is hopeful F Lance Thomas (sore left ankle) can return to the lineup early next week. Thomas last played Nov. 12. ... The Wizards used different starting lineups in each of their last four games. ... The Knicks open a three-game homestand Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks. ... Washington hosts the Miami Heat Saturday
