Nene saved a loose ball under the Minnesota Timberwolves' basket and never had to bother running after tossing a pass ahead to John Wall at midcourt. After catching the pass, Wall found an extra gear, avoided a reach-in by Dante Cunningham, did a pirouette around Ricky Rubio, dipped past Derrick Williams and flipped an underhanded, no-look shot off the glass that even he could not explain.

"I didn't even know what I was doing there," Wall said.

It was that easy for Wall and the Washington Wizards on Friday night, with his return to the starting lineup leading to a series of circus shots and highlight plays providing the necessary boost for a wire-to-wire114-101 victory at Verizon Center.