WASHINGTON -- It was a quiet night for John Wall -- until the Washington Wizards needed their All-Star to deliver. Dribbling on the perimeter with the final seconds ticking off the clock and Washington down by a point, Wall found his opening. He drove the lane, drew the defence, and slipped a pass to a cutting Nene for the game-winning slam dunk with 0.9 seconds left in a 94-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. "I just prayed," Nene said. "I wanted to finish with the ball in my hands. They put the ball into my hands. John, he did amazing, penetration right there, he found me right there." Slamming the ball with his right hand, Nene finished with 30 points to match his career high. It wasnt the play Wall had in mind. "I wanted to shoot a jump shot," Wall said. "I saw Anthony Davis come and I wanted to whip it around to (Marcin Gortat.) But I saw (Jeff) Withey come at the same time and I saw Nene right there and that was the easiest, safest pass and luckily he got it off in time." Moments earlier, Wall had scored with a driving, off-balance shot in the lane to put Washington in front 92-91 with 27 seconds left. But Davis answered with two free throws with seven seconds to go. The Wizards called a timeout to set up Wall. "John made two plays at the end that you cant teach," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "He got to the basket for the layup. For being down one with the time running down, under control, to make that last play to Nene for the dunk, it was good execution down the stretch." The play spoiled a big performance by Davis, who had 26 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony Morrow added 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting in a game that had 22 lead changes. "We were down. We were up. We were down. We were up," Davis said. "To come in close and lose, especially on a play like that, is tough." Nene made 13 of 19 shots. With Wall and Beal, the Wizards top two threats, combining for just 21 points, Washington turned to its frontcourt. Center Marcin Gortat contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds. Andre Miller, acquired in a deadline deal on Thursday, made his Wizards debut, scoring five points with three assists in 16 minutes. "I thought I probably played too many minutes," Miller said. "It will probably take about a week. My wind was cool." It was an uncharacteristic start for Washington, as Wall and Beal failed to score in the first quarter. But the Wizards other three starters compensated, hitting 11 of their first 13 shots as Washington took an early lead and held it for most of the half. Withey sparked New Orleans late in the second quarter with an emphatic rejection of Gortat. The 7-footer followed with a slam to give the Pelicans their first lead since the opening minutes, 37-36, and set the scene for a see-saw battle the rest of the way. Early in the third quarter, New Orleans went on a 9-0 run ignited by a 3-pointer by Eric Gordon and followed by three fast-break baskets, two of them by Davis. But Washington soon followed with a 15-2 spree, which included seven points by Nene and a 3-pointer by Martell Webster. Down by eight, New Orleans scored 11 straight points in a run that bridged the quarters and was ignited by 3-pointers by reserve guards Tyreke Evans and Morrow. The Pelicans led 89-85 when Brian Roberts hit a pair of free throws with 3:48 left, and he had a chance to increase it after a Washington turnover. But Roberts threw an errant pass which was stolen by Nene who fed Wall for a breakaway layup. Moments later, Wall returned the favour in dramatic fashion. "I just knew it was seven seconds and thats a lot of time," Wall said. "(In a loss at Houston), we went early and left four seconds on the clock. I wanted to make sure we got the last shot. If you lose, you lose, if you win, you win." NOTES: Al Harrington played for Washington for the first time in two months following December knee surgery ... Greg Stiemsma replaced Alexis Ajinica at centre for New Orleans, but failed to score and had as many technical fouls (one) as rebounds. Ajinica scored all nine of his points in the second half and added nine rebounds. Glen Rice Hornets Jersey . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time. Bismack Biyombo Hornets Jersey . But Paul Osbaldiston, Hamiltons assistant special teams and kicking coach, said the team still relished the championship game workout. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/ . Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury, but the 5-foot-10, 249-pounder had been expected to fill a need on Clevelands roster. Frank Kaminsky Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. Larry Johnson Hornets Jersey .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. PHOENIX -- The sore left elbow Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic is dealing with might sting less than the All-Star snub he got earlier this week. Dragic isnt letting either affect his play. He scored 25 points and the Suns made almost 57 per cent of their shots through three quarters Saturday night in a 105-95 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. "I was kind of sad, mad, just full of emotions when I found out (about not being named an All-Star reserve), but thats the way it is," Dragic said. "It doesnt matter. I just want to play hard and be with my teammates and make the playoffs." Marcus Morris added 15 points for the Suns, who have won five straight games and seven of their last eight. Its the second time the Suns have won five in a row, matching their longest winning streak of the season. Phoenix held Charlotte to 14 second-quarter points, the lowest total in that quarter for an opponent this season. The Bobcats had played the night before in Los Angeles. "You cant have many nights like that. We just didnt try," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "We had no effort to start the game. If you are not ready to play or defend then you have no chance. The guys who came off the bench were worse than the starters." The Suns limited Al Jefferson, Charlottes leading scorer, to just 10 points after hed logged three straight 30-point games. He was 4 of 15 from the field and didnt play in the fourth quarter. "Guys were just fighting and made it tough on him," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said of Jefferson, whom he coached as an assistant with the Utah Jazz. "Hell shake his head and say Why do you keep trapping me all the time? Thats the kind of player he is, where we have to do that to him all the time." Markieff Morris threw down a dunk with 3.4 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Suns a 90-63 lead. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Bobcats cut the Suns lead to 99-86 with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter but couldnt sustain the run.dddddddddddd. Reserve Anthony Tolliver led Charlotte with 14 points and Jannero Pargo added 12 points and six assists. Ish Smiths floater with 7:05 left in the first half gave the Suns a 47-35 lead, and his driving right-hand layup made it 50-36 with 5:59 left. Marcus Morris hit a 3 off a feed from Dragic to make it 55-41, and Dragic scored the final four points of the half as the Suns closed it out on a 9-0 run. Dragic hit 10 of 14 shots in 27 minutes of action and has 20 or more points in four straight games. "Im more relaxed," Dragic said. "I know how the opponent is going to guard me. . It feels like Im playing basketball with my friends back home, no pressure and I just go there and do my job, I get great support from my teammates and its just fun." The Bobcats failed to score for the final five-plus minutes of the first half. The Suns defence on Jefferson was a major factor as they double-teamed the big man at times or sent a player over to stab at the ball as soon as he caught it. "We didnt have the energy that we needed, we werent making shots, no excuses," Jefferson said. The Bobcats had won their last two games, the first stops of a four-game western road swing. NOTES: The Bobcats were without guard Kemba Walker, whose 18.7 points and five assists per game were missed. Walker has been out with a sprained left ankle for two weeks and is expected to return soon. ... Saturday was Fan Appreciation Night at the US Airways Center. About half the crowd received "Go Suns" foam fingers. ... Injured Suns guard Eric Bledsoe has been out since Jan. 2, but he is the featured player on bobblehead dolls that will be given to fans at the next Suns home game, Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls. ... The balls used for Saturdays game were among the first ones to bear the signature of new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. ... The two teams wore warm-up shirts bearing the Twitter hashtag ".NBABHM" in honour of Black History Month. ' ' '
