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Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall had 30 points and 12 assists as the Washington Wizards defeated the Orlando Magic 105-98 on Thursday night. Marcin Gortat posted 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul Pierce supplied 16 points for the Wizards, who bounced back from a season-opening loss at Miami Wednesday. We created more offense from our defense than our eight preseason games and the one last night, Wizards head coach Randy Whittman said. Nene added 12 points, five assists and three steals in his season debut after serving a one-game suspension after leaving the bench during a scuffle with Chicago in the preseason. Nik Vucevic provided 23 points and 12 rebounds, Ben Gordon netted 22 points off the bench and Evan Fournier put in 21 for Orlando, which fell to New Orleans on Tuesday. I loved the urgency they played with once they got down, Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn said. After Wall sunk two free throws to stake Washington to a 94-83 advantage midway through the fourth, Fournier knocked down a 3-pointer to pull the Magic within 96-93 with 3:27 left. Pierce sandwiched a pair of jumpers around two Fournier free throws for a 100-95 Wizards lead with 1:53 remaining. Tobias Harris turned the ball over and Vucevic missed a jumper on consecutive possessions before Gordon hit all three of his free throws after being fouled from beyond the arc to whittle the gap to 100-98 with 44.1 ticks on the clock. Wall responded with a driving layup at the other end and scored the final five points in all to seal the outcome. Earlier, Washington led 28-23 after a quarter of play and Wall nailed a triple at the first-half buzzer for a 54-51 edge heading into the locker room. Wall scored six points and Pierce netted the final five during a 15-4 Washington surge in the third, giving the Wizards a healthy 72-57 spread midway through the frame. The Wizards built that margin to as high as 17 before settling for an 82-66 cushion heading into the final frame. Game Notes Washington was 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc and scored 17 points off 18 Orlando turnovers ... Orlando shot 51.4 percent (37-of-72) from the floor. Josh Reddick Jersey . 22 because of a bruised foot and have added forward Sean Collins to the roster on emergency recall from Springfield of the AHL. Billy Wagner Astros Jersey . Burkes Flames are one of several teams involved in heavy trade speculation going into next Wednesdays 3pm et deadline, with the most prominent name in play being forward Michael Cammalleri. https://www.cheapastros.com/2863o-rogeli...y-astros.html.2 million deal for the upcoming season with right-hander Garrett Richards.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the announcement hadnt been made. Garrett Stubbs Astros Jersey . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Robinson Chirinos Jersey . Expensive. The NFL fined Tomlin $100,000 on Wednesday for interfering with Baltimores Jacoby Jones on a kickoff return in the third quarter of a 22-20 loss to the Ravens on Thanksgiving night.SOCHI, Russia – Even before the Olympic tournament began, before the under-looked and under-appreciated Fins would stun the entire nation of Russia, Olli Jokinen prescribed the formula that would get it done. “I think we have the best goaltending out of all the other countries,” Jokinen said. “We play a good team game. Plus, we feel that at the end of the day it doesnt matter who puts the Finnish jersey on the team is going to play the same game anyways. For us its not so much about the names on the back, its about the good, solid team game and good goaltending.” That was what it took to bring down Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and the home country at Bolshoy Ice Dome on Wednesday night: spectacular goaltending from Tuukka Rask, a few timely goals and continued adherence to a team game, despite injury losses that seemed too burdensome to overcome. Ever the underdog, Finland has altered the face of these Games in Russia and reminded the hockey world, yet again, why only one country has medaled in three of the four Olympics involving NHL players. “You know that nobody ever believed that we could win, but it doesnt matter,” said captain Teemu Selanne, who had a goal and an assist in the 3-1 upset over Russia. “The experts are wrong many times. We have to believe in our team.” There was no Ovechkin on this team, no Malkin, not even the injured and more recognizable likes of Mikko and Saku Koivu, Valtteri Filppula, or even Aleksander Barkov, the second overall pick in last summers NHL draft. For star power, it came down to Rask, who was terrific with 37 saves, and Selanne, playing in his final Olympics at age 43. “Weve got good team spirit and our style to play,” said Leo Komarov, who played in the NHL with the Maple Leafs last season. The Finns, who won bronze in 1998 and 2010 and silver in 2006, were a determined and youthful bunch on this night, led, however, by the aging Selanne, the unsolvable Rask and 21-year-old Mikael Granlund, who set up Selannes go-ahead goal and eventual game-winner before scoring the third and finall marker himself.dddddddddddd. “I think this is a great business card for Granlund to show how good he can be,” Selanne said of Granlund, who has 28 points in his second season with the Minnesota Wild. In upsetting the Russians and holding Ovechkin and Malkin off the score-board entirely – the pair combined for two goals all tournament – Finland gets an opportunity to play in Fridays semi-final against Sweden with another medal chance close at hand. Mindful of a rest advantage – Russia was playing for the fourth time in five days – Selanne believes a turning point for his country came in their final preliminary round match against Canada during which they lost 2-1 in overtime, hanging around despite an overwhelming talent disparity. “My young teammates, when they realized that they can compete against the best players in the world it felt great,” said Selanne, who played in his first Olympics in 1992. “I dont know how many people saw that, [but] I saw it very [closely]. I was very proud of those guys. I think thats the carryover from that game. Its a good feeling when you realize that you can compete against the best.” Yet again it was a sum of parts defeating what was ultimately an incredibly talented and yet flawed Russian squad, one that buckled under the strain of a countrys worth of pressure. They fell in the quarterfinals for the second straight Olympics. “It sucks,” said Ovechkin, who had just a single goal all tournament, held to three shots by Finland and singled out by his head coach afterward. Rask was there all night to turn aside whatever Ovechkin and the Russians could muster. The 26-year-old got stronger as the game wore on, stopping all 27 shots in the final 40 minutes, including one on Alexander Radulov in the waning moments of victory. “Tuukka?” said Komarov with a grin. “Hes okay.” And ultimately it was Rask, who summed up the under-looked and under-appreciated Finns. “Even though nobody ever picks us to win medals,” he said, “we always seem to find a way to get there and win one.” ' ' '