New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes fouls Washington Wizards center Montrezl Harrell in the second half Monday night at Washington. Nick Wass/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, and the Washington Wizards erased a 19-point deficit to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 105-100 Monday night for their fifth consecutive victory.

Washington at 10-3 is off to the franchise’s best start in 47 years when the Bullets opened the 1974-75 season 11-2. The Wizards have done this with and without All-Star guard Bradley Beal, who missed a second consecutive game mourning the death of his grandmother.

“We love him, we support him and we can’t wait till he comes back,” Wizards forward Deni Avdija said.

Aaron Holiday, who took Beal’s spot in the starting lineup, scored 12 points. Dinwiddie made his first three 3-point attempts in the third quarter to start the climb back from down 60-41, cutting the Pelicans’ lead to five before a series of fouls and missed free throws temporarily stalled the comeback bid.

Trailing by seven entering the fourth quarter, it took until Kyle Kuzma’s 3 with 5:18 left for the Wizards to pull even at 92 for the first tie since 33-all. Avdija’s fast-break layup put Washington up with under four minutes left, and the second-year pro from Israel grabbed a defensive rebound on the next Pelicans possession to bring the home crowd to its feet.

Fan favorite center Montrezl Harrell was serenaded with “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants while shooting free throws with two minutes remaining and pounded his chest after drawing an offensive foul seconds later. The Wizards pulled away from there on jumpers by Avdija and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and the Pelicans missed 11 consecutive attempts from the field to let the game slip away.

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New Orleans lost for the 13th time in 15 games this season, all without Zion Williamson because of a broken right foot.

KINGS 129, PISTONS 107: Buddy Hield scored 22 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 17 points and 10 assists as visiting Sacramento ended a four-game losing streak.

The Kings took control with a 26-2 run for a 33-12 lead early in the second quarter.

Cade Cunningham had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Detroit.

KNICKS 92, PACERS 84: Immanuel Quickley came off the bench to score 16 points, and New York limited visiting Indiana to two baskets in the fourth quarter to rally for a win.

Kemba Walker also had 16 points for the Knicks, but he didn’t play in the fourth when the reserves and especially the defense won it for New York. Derrick Rose, Walker’s backup, added 14 points.

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The Knicks ended a three-game home losing streak and a two-game skid overall by outscoring the Pacers 23-10 in the final 12 minutes.

Indiana shot 2 for 20 in the fourth period.

Malcolm Brogdon had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, who had won two in a row. .

HAWKS 129, MAGIC 111: Trae Young and John Collins each scored 23 points and host Atlanta won its second straight.

Clint Capela finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds and Bogdan Bogdanovich added 20 points for Atlanta, which snapped a six-game skid with a 20-point win over defending NBA champion Milwaukee on Sunday.

Cole Anthony had 27 points and 11 assists for the Magic, who have dropped three straight and 5 of 6.

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GRIZZLIES 136, ROCKETS 102: Ja Morant had 22 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points and Memphis handed visiting Houston its 12th straight loss.

Dillon Brooks finished with 16 points, and Kyle Anderson added 15 as Memphis snapped a three-game losing streak. The 136 points was a season-high for the Grizzlies.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 15 points.

HEAT 103, THUNDER 90: Tyler Herro scored 26 points and short-handed Miami beat host Oklahoma City.

Duncan Robinson scored 21 points and Kyle Lowry added 11 points and 11 assists for the Heat.

Miami played without Jimmy Butler (sprained right ankle) and Bam Adebayo (bruised left knee). Butler, who averages 23.6 points per game, missed his third straight.

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MAVERICKS 111, NUGGETS 101: Kristaps Porzingis had 29 points and 11 rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Dallas Mavericks rallied past visiting Denver.

Dallas opened the fourth period on a 17-6 run that included 3-pointers by Hardaway, Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock to go ahead 98-88 with six minutes left, its largest lead to that point.

Doncic had 23 points and 11 assists and Jalen Brunson scored 17 off the bench for the Mavericks, who have won 5 of 6.

Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who finished a back-to-back and had their five-game winning streak snapped.

NOTES

TIMBERWOLVES: Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are buying the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion, but their desire to get the team together in Miami in early September will cost the organization $250,000.

The Wolves were fined that amount by the NBA for violating league rules that “prohibit teams from arranging or paying for offseason practice or group workout sessions for their players outside a team’s home market.”

Rodriguez and Lore hosted the entire team and staffers at Rodriguez’s Coral Gables, Florida, home for dinners and practices before the season began. The events were certainly not a secret as they were was well-documented on social media accounts, including the Timberwolves’ on Twitter, in recognition of the new owners’ efforts at team bonding.


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