The Washington Wizards defeated the visiting Orlando Magic, 117-109, at Capital One Arena on Monday.

This eight-point final margin is unfair to the Magic, as it was extremely competitive throughout. In fact, neither club led by more than 10 points, as there were 17 ties and 18 lead changes in total. A 14-4 run by Washington in the middle of the fourth quarter was critical, as that turned a tied ball game into Washington's biggest lead with four minutes remaining. In addition, the first three quarters all ended in stalemates, as a 34-26 fourth quarter ultimately won Washington the game. Defensive rebounding was huge for the Wizards, as they won that battle, 34-26. Getting to the free-throw line was also huge, with Washington connecting on 24-of-33 while Orlando hit just 8-of-11. The Wizards also won the points in the paint battle, 46-38 and won the fastbreak differential, 15-5.

The Magic's (6-8) leading scorer came off the bench, as Terrence Ross provided 21 points, three rebounds and two assists. Evan Fournier led the starters with 20 points, two rebounds and five assists. Aaron Gordon collected 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals an two blocks. Nikola Vucevic amassed 17 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

The Wizards (4-9) were led by John Wall, as he tallied 25 points, four rebounds and 10 assists. Bradley Beal totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Dwight Howard finished with 17 points and eight boards while Markieff Morris generated 16 points and eight rebounds. Jeff Green led the bench with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals on 6-of-7 from the field.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday, with Orlando playing host to the Philadelphia 76ers and Washington remaining home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers.