WASHINGTON -- The Charlotte Hornets earned a playoff berth with consistently strong efforts over the last two months. With possible home-court advantage in the opening round of the postseason at stake, that version didn't show up against the Washington Wizards.

Despite playing without John Wall and minus Bradley Beal for the final three quarters, the Washington Wizards dumped the Charlotte Hornets 113-98 on Sunday afternoon.

Trailing 55-48 at halftime, Charlotte (46-34) rallied for a 71-69 lead with 3:49 left in the third quarter only to see Washington finish the period with a 17-3 surge for an 86-74 lead.

The Hornets had won two straight and 16 of 21 since March 1. Another win would have moved them into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the idle Celtics heading into Monday's meeting in Boston.

"We played two months of really, really good basketball," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We have two games here to get back to that."

Marcin Gortat finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards (39-41), who were eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff hunt following Friday's 112-99 loss at the Detroit Pistons.

Frank Kaminsky had 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Hornets. Charlotte shot 34.6 percent from the field. Washington sank 52.5 percent of its attempts while scoring 50 points in the paint.

The Hornets put forth another push as an 8-0 run cut the lead to 88-84, but the Wizards came back with eight in a row starting a 14-2 spurt. Gortat's layup gave Washington a 102-86 lead with 4:05 remaining.

"We didn't really set a tone early on and they were just able to get a lot of things in transition," Kaminsky said. "Just didn't have it defensively today."

The Wizards had the energy despite their postseason hopes ending and not having their top threat, Wall, who missed his third straight game with a sore right knee after playing in each of Washington's first 77 contests.

Beal only played eight minutes during the first quarter and didn't return due to a sore pelvis injury that kept him out four games last month. Wizards coach Randy Wittman was uncertain of the status for his starting guards over the final two games though the goal for team is clear.

"We've still got something to play for. I told them when we got eliminated that we can get to .500," Wittman said. "Take pride. We play this game cause it's fun. I coach this game cause it's fun. Let's enjoy it, play and have fun. Work to correct the wrongs that we'll all look at when the season is over."

Charlotte, which began the day tied with the Miami Heat for fifth, cannot finish below sixth in the East. Miami could break the tie if the Heat defeats the Orlando Magic on Sunday night in Miami. The top four seeds receive home-court advantage in the opening round.

Kemba Walker scored 16 points and Marvin Williams had 14 for the Hornets.

"We've been a little up and down," Williams said of Charlotte's effort since clinching a playoff berth on April 2. "I don't think anybody's concerned. We definitely need to get back to the way we were playing a little earlier before the playoffs start."

Ramon Sessions had 15 points and 11 assists in his third straight start in place of Wall and his third start of the season.

The win ensured a 2-2 season series split. Charlotte rallied from double-digit deficits in the second half in both of its previous wins over Washington this season.

"We had talked about that when got up by like 10," Sessions said of those previous second-half collapses. Washington was outscored 27-6 in the fourth quarter of a 101-87 loss at Charlotte on Nov. 25 and 60-46 in the second half of 108-104 road defeat on Feb. 6.

"We just kept our foot on the pedal and were able to get a good win," Sessions said.

Washington led by as many as 14 points before entering halftime leading 55-48. Gortat had 10 points and eight rebounds. Kaminsky also scored 10 points.

NOTES: Wizards G Marcus Thornton started the second half with G Bradley Beal out and scored 16 points. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford isn't a big fan of noon start times, but he sees the value with the postseason coming up. "It definitely takes the guys out of their rotation," Clifford said before Sunday's tipoff. "I think it's also good practice for the upcoming playoffs where you know that you are going to play at a different time every (day)." ... Charlotte enters Monday's game at Boston, its final road game of the regular season, 11-4 in the second game of back-to-backs. The Celtics lead the season series 2-0. ... Washington concludes its road slate Monday at the Brooklyn Nets.