NBA wrap: Wizards top Thunder for second straight win without injured John Wall

The Wizards face a long road ahead, with point guard John Wall expected to miss six to eight weeks as he recovers from a knee procedure.

As the saying goes, the longest journey begins with the first step, and the Wall-less Wizards took a huge step Tuesday by beating the Thunder, 102-96, in Washington.

Otto Porter Jr. led the Wizards with 25 points, while Bradley Beal added 21 and handed out nine assists. Everyone will have to pitch in to make up for the 19.4 points and 9.3 assists per game Wall brings to the offense.

The Wizards (28-22) are now 2-0 since Wall was sidelined (they beat the Hawks Saturday). They need every win they can get with Wall out. They're currently in fifth place in the East, but they're only up a couple of games on the eighth-place 76ers. So this win, against a tough visiting team, was big. Coach Scott Brooks liked what he saw.

“We fought, we battled, we clawed. We didn’t complain; we just played," Brooks said.
Before the game, Brooks had said he didn't think the Wizards would acquire a guard before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
“This is a minor setback. (Wall) will be back," Brooks said. "We’re not gonna change things up just because of this."
Tuesday night, the crew the Wizards had on hand was enough to get the job done.

Stud of the Night

James Harden set the Rockets all-time single-game scoring record with 60 points on 19-of-30 shooting with 11 assists and 10 rebounds in Houston's 114-107 win over the Magic.
Dud of the Night

Russell Westbrook can't play like a superhuman every night. Tuesday was one of those nights, as he had seven turnovers and shot 5 of 18 from the floor for 13 points in OKC's loss to the Wizards.

Highlight

Enes Kanter had a great night with 20 points and 20 rebounds in the Knicks' 111-95 win over the Nets, but Quincy Acy got the best of him on this dunk.

oh my @QuincyAcy pic.twitter.com/RFLmaZXXAB
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 31, 2018

What's Next

Heat (29-21) at Cavaliers (29-19) 7:30 p.m. ET — Third place in the Eastern Conference is at stake, as the underachieving Cavaliers host the Heat, who are playing better than most observers expected this season