Short-handed Wiz hand Magic a 16th straight road loss

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall dribbles the ball during the second half of their NBA game against Orlando Magic, at the Verizon Center in Washington on Tuesday. (EPA)DPA/Los AngelesThe Washington Wizards didn’t have their starting centre Nene on Tuesday but they did have All-Star guard John Wall and a strong supporting cast to pick up the slack. Wall scored 27 points, Trevor Ariza hit all five triples en route to 22 and the Wizards sent the downward-spiraling Orlando Magic to a franchise-matching record 16 consecutive road loss, 115-106. Earlier in the day, the Wizards learned Brazilian Nene is expected to be sidelined for the next six weeks with a left knee sprain. “Everybody got to step up different ways with Nene being out,” Wall said. “Four guys over 20 points is pretty big for us. It just goes to show how well we can play when we move the ball around and share.” Polish-native Marcin Gortat and Bradley Beal netted 21 points apiece as Washington (29-28) won a fourth straight game for the first time since Feb. 4-11, 2013. “Listen, Nene’s not here, but I got to lead this team, help the team inside,” said Gortat, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. “I believe I’m capable of doing it.” Wall netted 18 points and the Wizards led 62-53 at halftime. Ariza added a dozen third-quarter points as the lead swelled to as many as 17. Washington carried a 93-80 cushion into the final 12 minutes and never let the lead dip below eight. “I thought we came out really energised and got good performances from everybody,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “We were focused right from the start.” Victor Oladipo tallied 26 points, Mo Harkless had 22 while Nikola Vucevic contributed 19 with 14 rebounds for the Magic (17-42), who haven’t won away from home since Dec 16. “I don’t know what it is because at home we play a lot better and feel we can beat anybody but on the road we struggle,” Harkless explained.  “I think it’s a part of us being young but that’s no excuse.” Elsewhere: Houston Rockets 129, Sacramento Kings 103: James Harden poured in a season-high 43 points in just 31 minutes, including 22 in the opening quarter, and the visiting Rockets rolled to their 10th win in the last 11 games after routing the Kings. NBA officials weigh enlarging basketball courtThe NBA is exploring the possibility of expanding the dimensions of the basketball court to accommodate the growing size and increased athleticism of players, ESPN reported on Tuesday.NBA president of basketball operations, Rod Thorn, and vice-president Kiki VanDeWeghe also acknowledged in an interview with ESPN.com that the league office had informally weighed the possibility of introducing a four-point shot. Thorn and VanDeWeghe, in an interview during the All-Star break, spoke of the concepts mostly from a hypothetical standpoint but conceded that both ideas have been presented for discussion at a league level. The NBA has employed a 94-by-50-foot court since the 1940s. “Making the court bigger—it’s an interesting idea and we’ve actually looked at it,” said VanDeWeghe, a former NBA All-Star player and head coach. “We keep a list of ideas on what we should do and how we can make the game better, of course. But arenas are obviously built in a certain way and that would take a lot of adjusting.” Thorn brought up another thorny issue. “Those seats that are very close to the court are obviously very expensive seats to start out with. And most of them come right up to the floor,” said Thorn, a longtime former NBA general manager. “You could probably extend it lengthwise easier than you can sideways. So there are a lot of things you have to look at there.” As for the prospect of a four-point shot, Thorn said that, too, was “something that’s come up” as an informal proposal.