WASHINGTON — Otto Porter had a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds as the Washington Wizards turned a 26-point lead in the first quarter into a 118-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
John Wall scored 19 points for the Wizards (2-5), who led 34-8 after the first quarter. Washington outrebounded Boston 54-31, shot 50 percent from the field and hit 10 3-pointers in their most impressive start-to-finish performance of the season. Trey Burke contributed 18 points.
The Celtics (3-4) dropped their third in a row. Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points, Avery Bradley 21 and Marcus Smart 20.
Boston shot 43.2 percent from the field but never fully recovered after starting 4 of 22 (18.2 percent) in the first quarter.
Wall received a flagrant-2 foul with 5:24 remaining for an aggressive foul on Smart, leading to his second ejection in as many games.
The three-time All-Star was fined $25,000 for “inappropriate interaction with a game official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection,” the NBA announced Wednesday.
Wall received his second technical foul 33.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 114-106 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Bradley Beal exited in the third quarter with right hamstring tightness after slipping. He eventually limped to the locker room and did not return. Beal, who signed a five-year, $128 million contract this offseason, scored three points in 11 minutes.
Defensive woes led to back-to-back losses at Cleveland and against Denver as Boston allowed 128 and 123 points, respectively. That version showed up early as Washington led 34-8 after the first quarter.
Al Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (left ankle sprain) did not play for Boston.
The Celtics swept the series 4-0 last season.
Porter stuffed the stat sheet and sizzled from the start. The small forward sank 5 of 5 shots from the field with three 3-pointers in the first quarter as he outscored the Celtics with 13 points.
Porter finished 14 of 19 overall with four assists, three steals, three blocks and seven offensive rebounds.
Thomas scored all 13 of his first-half points in the second quarter as the Celtics closed with an 18-8 run to enter halftime down 58-43, but they got no closer.
NOTES: Celtics C Al Horford (concussion) showed signs of improvement on Tuesday, coach Brad Stevens said, but his timeline remains uncertain. Horford, who last played Oct. 29, missed his fourth straight game Wednesday. … The Wizards remain committed to not playing John Wall on both ends of back-to-back game scenarios because of the point guard’s two offseason knee surgeries. Coach Scott Brooks did not reveal if Wall sits Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers or Saturday at the Chicago Bulls. …Celtics F Kelly Olynyk made his season debut after the opening six games with a right shoulder injury. … Boston hosts the New York Knicks on Friday.
Wolves 123, Magic 107
ORLANDO — Zack LaVine scored a career-high 37 points and Andrew Wiggins added 29, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to an easy, 123-107 victory over the Orlando Magic Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
The Timberwolves (2-5) led from start to finish in snapping a three-game losing streak and winning their first road game this season. They showed no signs of fatigue after losing the previous night in Brooklyn, and never were seriously challenged.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and grabbed 11 rebounds. Forward Gorgui Dieng had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
LaVine made 14 of 22 shots and hit seven of nine 3-pointers. Wiggins made 10 of 18 shots and two of his four 3-pointers.
Center Nikola Vucevic led the Magic (3-5) with 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Point guard Elfrid Payton had 18 points and seven assists. Guard Evan Fournier added 13 points, Serge Ibaka 11 points and D.J. Augustin 10.
The Wolves led by 22 points after the first quarter, 27 after the second and 20 after the third. The Magic never got closer than 10 points in the fourth.
Vucevic, who had eight points in the first half, scored 14 points in the third period, but the Magic still trailed by 20 points going into the fourth.
The Wolves led, 74-47, at intermission, riding 19 points from both Wiggins and LaVine. They led by as many as 30 points in the first half when they made 26 of 43 shots (60 percent) and hit nine of 13 from 3-point range.
It was the fifth time this season the Wolves scored at least 60 points in the first half.
The Magic made only one of seven 3-pointers in the first half when they fell behind quickly and hardly challenged.
Orlando coach Frank Vogel showed his frustration early when he received his second technical foul of the season, protesting a foul call on Ibaka in the first period.
Hornets 104, Jazz 98
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Kemba Walker scored 21 points, and the Charlotte Hornets took control down the stretch to beat the Utah Jazz 104-98 Wednesday night at the Spectrum Center.
Walker scored nine of his points in the final 3:59, including five straight in during a stretch in which the Hornets pulled out to a 98-91 lead. Charlotte trailed much of the game but led by as many as 10 in the closing minutes.
The Hornets (6-1) earned their fourth consecutive win, while the Jazz (5-4) had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Five other Hornets scored in double figures. Marvin Williams scored 19 and had eight rebounds, hitting five 3-pointers. Frank Kaminsky and Marco Belinelli scored 13 each, Cody Zeller finished with 12 and Spencer Hawes contributed 11.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 29 points. Rodney Hood scored 20, Derrick Favors had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Trey Lyles scored 10. Rudy Gobert had seven points and 11 rebounds.
The Jazz finished 8 of 34 (23.5 percent) from 3-point range after coming into the game ranked second in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 40.2 percent.
Utah led by as many as 10 in the first half and was on top 58-51 at halftime. The Jazz shot 54.5 percent from the field in the half despite going only 4 of 19 from 3-point range; they were 20 of 25 from inside the arc. Hayward had 17 at the break.
Utah led 78-76 after three quarters.
The Hornets took the lead for good at 86-85 with 7:21 left on a Kaminsky layup. They wound up outscoring the Jazz 28-20 in the fourth quarter.