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Sean Rooks put back a missed layup by Baron Davis just before the final buzzer to lift the New Orleans Hornets to an 87-85 exhibition victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
The winning basket finished off the best game of the preseason for the newly acquired reserve center, who hit his first four shots of the night and finished with 12 points. Rooks was playing at the end because starter Jamaal Magloire had fouled out.
David Wesley led the Hornets (4-2) with 16 points but continued to struggle from the field, hitting 5 of 20 shots, making him 6-for-35 over the past two games. Davis added 15 points, while George Lynch, starting for the injured Jamal Mashburn, had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ticketmaster
Gilbert Arenas led Washington (1-4) with 24 points on 10-of-24 shooting. Kwame Brown hit seven of nine shots from the field and was dominant inside, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Wesley scored 14 in the first half, 10 in the second quarter, as the Hornets took a 53-36 lead at the break. Ticketmaster
But Arenas and Brown combined for all but two points of a 20-4 run by Washington to open the second half and close the deficit to 57-56.
Lynch gave New Orleans an 85-80 lead with a 3-pointer with just over two minutes left, but Brown followed a Washington miss with a dunk, and Washington tied the game 85-85 on a pair of free throws by Arenas with 20.7 seconds left.