Jordan Poole made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds remaining, and the Washington Wizards came from behind to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 113-110 on Thursday night, despite losing a 21-point lead in the first half.
Poole’s 3-pointer gave the Wizards a 112-110 lead, and then Charlotte’s Brandon Miller missed a long-range shot with six seconds left. Justin Champagnie grabbed the rebound and made one of two free throws, as the Wizards closed the game on a 13-4 run.
Poole led Washington with 25 points, and Bilal Coulibaly added 20. Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who now have five wins this season, two of which came against Charlotte.
LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 31 points but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Miles Bridges added 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Miller scored 18. The Hornets have now lost six straight games and 14 of their last 15.
Vasilije Micic made two 3-pointers, and Tidjane Salaun also hit one as the Hornets opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 96.
Bridges’ alley-oop layup gave Charlotte its first lead since the first quarter at 101-100, with 7:38 remaining. Mark Williams’ dunk soon extended the lead to 106-100 with 4:33 left.
The Wizards then went on a 7-0 run, with Carlton Carrington’s layup putting them ahead 107-106, but Bridges’ layup gave the Hornets a 108-107 lead with 1:21 to go. Charlotte’s Josh Green missed two free throws with 38 seconds left.
After a miss and a scramble for the loose ball, Alexandre Sarr tipped in a shot to give the Wizards a 109-108 lead with 15 seconds left.
Ball drove and passed to Williams for a dunk, putting Charlotte ahead 110-109, but Poole hit the game-winning shot for Washington.
Charlotte trailed by 14 points at halftime, but Ball’s floater cut the lead to 84-79 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
The Wizards were up by five early in the second quarter before Corey Kispert hit a 3-pointer to make it 39-31. Kispert’s layup sparked a 7-0 run, capped by a Malcolm Brogdon free throw, giving Washington a 49-35 lead.
Coulibaly’s floater made it 63-47 with 3:38 left in the half, and Poole’s free throw extended the lead to 68-47 before Charlotte cut it to 68-54 at halftime.
