Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Bradley Beal poured in 21 points and the Washington Wizards downed the Charlotte Bobcats, 97-83, to snap a three-game losing streak.
Marcin Gortat scored 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and John Wall chipped in with 17 points and eight assists for Washington, which got its first win of 2014 after losing at home to Dallas, Toronto and Golden State by an average of 12.6 points.
"It was great to get the victory out there tonight. We played hard and we played together and had fun out there," Gortat said.
Gerald Henderson paced the Bobcats with 27 points while Kemba Walker donated 19 in the club's sixth loss in seven games.
The first half played out much differently than the second. Each team shot an identical 42.9 percent from the floor heading into halftime, and the largest lead from either side was five.
All that changed when Washington, which held a slim 43-39 edge at halftime, rattled off 17 consecutive points during a six-minute stretch in the third quarter.
Wall threw down an alley-oop dunk in transition to spark the flurry, Trevor Booker poured in eight points during the run, and Beal's deep jumper capped it for a healthy 64-45 Wizards lead.
The Bobcats committed three turnovers and missed all seven of their shots during their long drought, and even though they pulled within 66-55 going into the fourth, they only got as close as seven down the stretch.
"We got down in the third quarter and just couldn't come back from it," Henderson said. "It's disappointing."
Game Notes
Both teams have 15 wins on the season ... The Bobcats won last season's series, 3-1 ... Charlotte turned it over 13 times and only forced seven turnovers ... Booker finished with 12 points and eight boards ... Washington posted its eighth road win after having seven all of last season.
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