Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The more than 9,000 people that filled up Worthern Arena in Muncie, Indiana last night were in for a treat as their hometown heroes Indiana Pacers defeated the Washington Wizards 85-84on a last second tip-in by Randy Holcomb. The game was a homecoming for Washington's Jared Jefferies, who had just tipped in a Michael Ruffin miss 10 seconds earlier for what looked like the winning basket.
Indiana's Eddie Gill drove in for a layup with time running out. His high-arching layup missed the goal but Holcomb got the tip for the win at the buzzer. The Pacers played without Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, and Jonathan Bender.
Washington's Brendan Haywood looked fantastic, scoring 17 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and getting four blocks. Unfortunately he went 3-for-11 from the free throw line. Larry Hughes also had a good game, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Gerald Fitch seems to be emerging into a defensive force for Washington. In one stretch, he hit a jumper then stole the ball for a layup. His defense helped spurt an 8-0 run by the Wizards to take an 80-78 lead in the fourth quarter.
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (25-57 last season) continue their five-game pre-season road trip tonight as they face the Philadelphia 76ers (33-49 last season) in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be broadcast on locally on CSN and nationally on NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Come check out the 2004-05 Wizards onMonday, October 18thwhen the team hosts a free open scrimmage at MCI Center from 1-2 pm.
See quotes and pics of the Wizards during training camp at nba.com/wizards.
INJURY UPDATE
Kwame Brown(surgery to repair fracture in right foot)will miss the first month of the season. He is expected to be able to practice full-speed by the end of November.
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazettewrites: Randy Holcomb tipped in a rebound as the clock expired to lift the Indiana Pacers to an 85-84 win over the Washington Wizards in the preseason opener for both teams Monday night.After Washington’s Jared Jeffries tipped in a miss by Michael Ruffin with 9.7 seconds to play, Indiana’s Eddie Gill drove the lane and missed a high-arching layup. Holcomb came from the backside to tip it in... A slimmed-down Brendan Haywood had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Washington. Haywood’s numbers would have been even more impressive if he hadn’t gone 3-for-11 from the free-throw line. Washington made just 14 of 32 (49 percent) foul shots on the night.
Jeff Faraudo ofThe Alameda Times-Starwrites: Jordan couldn't elevate the fortunes of the hapless Washington Wizards, but he averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists, playing all 82 games.
Jeff McCaffery ofThe Delco Timeswrites: But beyond the obvious necessity of trying something, anything, different this time is the ability to spike in unlimited personnel directions in both the frontcourt and the backcourt beginning tonight in North Carolina with the exhibition opener against the Washington Wizards.That will keep players fresh, particularly Iverson and McKie, who have tended to hit a physical wall in recent Februarys.
The Baltimore Sunwrites: Stephen Jackson looked sharp in his debut for Indiana, scoring 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting to lead the Indiana Pacers to an 85-84 win over the Washington Wizards in the preseason opener for both teams in Muncie, Ind. Brendan Haywood had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Washington.Haywood went 3-for-11 from the free-throw line. Washington made 14 of 32 (44 percent) free throws. Washington used tough defense from Gerald Fitch to fuel an 8-0 run that put the Wizards ahead 80-78. Fitch hit a jumper, then got a steal and a layup in the spurt. Larry Hughes had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Wizards.
Will O'Hargan ofThe Ball State Daily Newswrites: Worthern Arena roared to life last night as 9,123 people packed in to watch the Indiana Pacers face the Washington Wizards.Local families, students and Pacers fans packed the arena to watch the Pacers defeat the Wizards in exciting fashion 85-84.
Sekou Smith ofThe Indianapolis Starwrites: Wizards forward Jared Jeffries, a Bloomington, Ind., native and former Indiana University star, was back home Monday night.And any doubts about the game being a homecoming for him were put to rest an hour before tip-off, when Jeffries was still scrambling to fill all 45 of his ticket requests. "I'm still trying to cook 'em all up," said a smiling Jeffries, who is entering his third pro season. "It's always good to be home and around my family." Jeffries is happy to be healthy again, too. He's finally recovered from the torn anterior cruciate ligament that ended his rookie season after just 20 games. Despite being the only Wizard to appear in all 82 games last season, averaging 5.2 points and 5.2 rebounds, Jeffries admitted he hadn't fully recovered from his shortened rookie season. Jeffries is confident this season, which he considers his "true" sophomore campaign, will be his breakout year. "Everything is coming back," said Jeffries, who had nine points and six rebounds. "My confidence is high. I've learned a few things the last two years."