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Wall back in business as the Wizards book NBA playoff spot

Elsewhere, the Heat were made to wait to guarantee their post-season plans while the Raptors were beaten by the Celtics.

JOHN WALL MADE a successful return to the court with a 15-point, 14-assist performance as the Washington Wizards booked their NBA playoff berth with a 107-93 over the Charlotte Hornets last night.

Otto Porter tallied 26 points and 11 rebounds and Bradley Beal nailed six of eight shots from beyond the arc as the Wizards hit a franchise record-equalling 18 three-pointers.

Wall last played in January before undergoing left knee surgery. His impact was immediate as he made a three-pointer on his first shot of the game and finished with 33 minutes of playing time.

NBA / YouTube

Washington had lost four of the last five without Wall to drop into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, heading into the Hornets match.

Wall had averaged 19.4 points and 9.3 assists in 37 games before the injury.

“That Ferrari is pretty good,” coach Scott Brooks said referring to Wall. “He got a lot of open shots for a lot of players. That’s what he does at the highest level in the league.”

The Hornets, who have now lost two on the bounce, were led by Dwight Howard with 22 points.

Elsewhere, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 20 points as the Brooklyn Nets denied the Miami Heat a chance to clinch a postseason spot with a 110-109 overtime win.

NBA / YouTube

Caris Levert scored with about a half-minute left in overtime to put Brooklyn up for good.

Levert finished with 19 and Brooklyn put seven players in double figures for the second straight game.

Brooklyn’s six-game overtime losing streak ended, and the Nets went 3-1 against the Heat this season.

James Johnson and Goran Dragic each scored 18 for Miami, which got 16 from Kelly Olynyk and 14 from Hassan Whiteside. Dwyane Wade had 13 for the Heat, whose magic number for clinching remained one.

NBA / YouTube

In other games, Marcus Morris had 25 points and nine rebounds and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors 110-99.

Andre Drummond narrowly missed a second straight 20-20 game with 22 points and 17 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the New York Knicks 115-109.

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