WASHINGTON: There were boos early and at the end for the winless Washington Wizards, who posted their worst ever start to a season by dropping to nine consecutive losses with a 96-89 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
Indiana’s David West scored 13 of his season-best 30 points in the fourth quarter, and Roy Hibbert broke out of a slump with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Still without point guard John Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, and starting center Nene, the Wizards are the only team in the NBA without a victory. They started last year by losing their first eight games, the club’s previous worst opening to a season.
They were led Monday by rookie Bradley Beal’s 18 points, 17 coming in the second half.
Jordan Crawford scored 11 on 2-for-12 shooting for Washington, which was jeered by the announced crowd of 14,426 in the opening minutes and again at the closing buzzer.
In other games, the Nuggets had a 97-92 win over the Grizzlies, the Clippers beat the Spurs 92-87, the Warriors defeated the Mavericks 105-101, the Jazz beat the Rockets 102-91, the Bobcats had a 102-98 win over the Bucks and the Hawks beat the Magic 81-72.
Danilo Gallinari scored 26 points, including a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left, as Denver ended the Memphis Grizzlies’ win streak at eight games.
JaVale McGee finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Kenneth Faried added 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The victory ended a three-game skid for the Nuggets, who handed the Grizzlies their first loss since dropping their season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.
At San Antonio, Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists as Los Angeles beat San Antonio for the second time this season. Matt Barnes had 14 points and Blake Griffin 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers.
Tim Duncan had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who had their second home loss this season. Manu Ginobili added 15 points and Tony Parker 11.
At Dallas, Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and David Lee’s layup with 32.8 seconds left helped Golden State to victory.
Curry had six points and three assists in the extra period.
O.J. Mayo scored 27 points, including all 11 of the Mavericks’ points in overtime. His 8-footer in the lane tied it at 99 with 41.2 seconds left in the extra period. Lee had 17 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, and rookie Harrison Barnes had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Golden State.
The Jazz got from points from reserve Gordon Hayward and 14 from Al Jefferson in its win over Houston.
Randy Foye hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the Jazz, who led by as many as 23 in the first half after opening the second quarter with a 13-0 run.
The Rockets pulled within nine late in the third, but Houston wouldn’t get any closer with leading scorer James Harden on the bench with a fever and upper-respiratory infection. Harden started 0 of 6 and finished with six points in 17 minutes before exiting just before halftime.
Patrick Patterson had 19 points and Jeremy Lin added 13 as Houston lost its third straight.
At Charlotte, Ramon Sessions scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including two free throws with 4.2 seconds left to seal the Bobcats’ win over Milwaukee.
The Bobcats trailed by 11 in the fourth but battled back, going 16 of 16 from the free throw line down the stretch. Sessions’ two free throws after Monta Ellis missed a 3-point attempt sent the Bucks to their first road loss. Ellis scored 31 points for the Bucks.
At Atlanta, Al Horford scored 15 points and Lou Williams added 14 to lead the Hawks to a win over struggling Orlando.
Zaza Pachulia pulled down 10 rebounds in a reserve role for the Hawks, who have won two straight and three of four.
Glen Davis (11) was the only player to score in double figures for the Magic, who have lost two straight and seven of eight.
