Wall helps rally Wizards past Kings

Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall tallied 31 points and 12 assists and the Washington Wizards overcame a steep halftime deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-97.

Paul Pierce added 17 points for the Wizards, who have won five of seven following a rough 2-11 stretch. They also improved to 18-1 on the season when shooting better than 50 percent from the floor after making 53.1 percent of their attempts on Saturday.

DeMarcus Cousins, Wall's college teammate, had 30 points for the Kings despite battling foul trouble most of the night.

The Kings, who coughed up a double-digit lead for the second straight game, were without second leading scorer Rudy Gay (knee).

Washington was sluggish out of the gate and trailed by as many as 21 points early in the second half before mounting a comeback.

One of Marcin Gortat or Pierce scored on four straight possessions during a 9-3 run early in the third quarter. Later, Wall capped a 12-0 run with a 3- pointer that cut the deficit to 77-70.

Wall's trey late in the third got Washington within 85-84, and his feed to Ramon Sessions for a corner 3 early in the fourth put the hosts in front for the first time all game at 89-88.

That basket sparked a 16-0 run that put the game away. Sacramento went more than six minutes without scoring, Cousins fouled out on a questionable charge called with 5:34 left, and the Wizards ran away with it.

Cousins netted 21 points in the first half, Derrick Williams scored 12 and the Kings led 64-46 at halftime.

Game Notes

Bradley Beal and Rasual Butler had 14 points apiece for Washington ... The Wizards have won three straight games for the first time since Jan. 5-9 ... Washington shot 50 percent (13-for-26) from behind the arc.