When John Wall and Bradley Beal started the fourth quarter of the Washington Wizards’ 108-117 defeat to the Orlando Magic on Friday night, it was clear Scott Brooks had entered desperation mode.

The Wizards boss had just kept the duo on the floor for the entire third quarter while his team trailed by double digits. And here he was – in November, against the Magic – asking his knee-scoped floor general and thin-shinned wing to play 24 minutes straight. That’s the type of all-in move you see in a playoff elimination game when a team is trying to save its season.

And fair enough. After just 11 games, Washington’s season needs saving.

Brooks’ gamble almost paid off. A fired-up Wall, perhaps sensing the gravity of the Wizards’ situation, decided to take over the game. (Wall in permanent first-gear is not Wall at his best, but that’s a topic for another day.) The 27-year-old played with a level of intensity he hadn’t exhibited since opening night, dragging Washington from a 25-point deficit near the end of the third to within one point with 2:30 to go in the fourth.

Wall had 13 points and 3 assists in that span. He attacked the rim at every opportunity, taking missed baskets the length of the floor or barreling into pick-and-rolls. The transition runouts got slower throughout the game – 42 minutes of basketball will do that to you – but his crafty left-to-right swim move made up for his tired legs:

On several occasions, Wall went into isolation mode. He sparked the entire run by pulverizing Jerian Grant for an easy third-quarter bucket:

The Wizards opted for an itty bitty lineup as they made their run. Jeff Green played center and Kelly Oubre was the nominal power forward, but they switched everything anyways. That alignment allowed for more aggression defensively, with players knowing a lost assignment would be picked up by another like-sized teammate. Washington wasn’t stopping the Magic’s creators so much as zooming around the floor and confusing them.

A few minutes into the fourth, Wall abandoned his man to snuff out a Terrence Ross dribble hand-off. Ross traveled and Wall celebrated like he’d clinched the game.

But it wasn’t to be. With about two minutes left, Wall cheated into the paint to help deter an entry pass to Aaron Gordon, leaving DJ Augustin open for a triple that put Orlando up four. On the other end, the Wizards star botched a layup. As he was pleading for a foul on Nikola Vucevic – and he may have had a point – Augustin sprinted the other way and hung up a lob for Ross to flush home. Six-point lead restored. Game effectively over.

A 24-point comeback would normally leave a team’s followers excited. But this Washington onslaught was barely worth a shrug. Orlando is a deeply flawed basketball team, whose -7.0 net rating ranks 24^th in the NBA. Yet the Magic dominated the Wizards over the game’s first 33 minutes.

The Wiz only came back because of some dart-thrown lineups and a rambunctious Wall. Play him and Beal 24 minutes straight and, hell, you should bury the other team.

Unless the Oubre-Green frontcourt works this miraculously every game, Brooks didn’t really find any sustainable solutions to his team’s misery. His two stars can’t play 42 minutes every night. And Wall can’t spur the offense with brute force alone.

The Wizards’ issues run deeper. Their defense lapses are the stuff of legend. They get pushed around on the glass even with Dwight Howard. They aren’t creating open looks for Otto Porter, who Brooks trusted to play just 23 minutes on Friday night. Nothing about Washington’s performance assuaged any of those concerns.

Brooks’ moves may have sparked a valiant comeback. They did not point to a larger plan. And that’s what the Wizards need right now.

Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images