Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Wizards got a much-needed blowout win last night over the Atlanta Hawks, winning122-93. It was actually a very close game until the Wizards exploded for 42 points in the final quarter. Compare the two starting backcourts and you'll understand this game: Larry Hughes and Gilbert Arenas combined for 52 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and 10 steals. Atlanta's Josh Childress and Tyronn Lue combined for 19 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and zero steals.
To be fair, Atlanta's back court played far fewer minutes. Combining their efforts with those of backups Royal Ivey and Tony Delk brings Atlanta's total to a more respectable 46 points, 9 rebounds, 17 assists, and 2 steals. It's getting closer to even but it takes four players playing some overlapping minutes to do it. Besides, the key point is still the differential in steals. And to be fair, it should be noted Steve Blake played a healthy 26 minutes for the Wizards, with Arenas at the off-guard.
Washington may have the best starting backcourt in the league. They can certainly compete with anyone, both on an offensive (who's gonna stop Hughes and Arenas?) and a defensive (who's gonna blow by these two?) ends.
The Wizards now have sole possession of the fourth-seed in the playoffs, bumping Cleveland to fifth.
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (35-27, second in the Southeast) finish off their little two-game road trip with a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks (26-37, fifth in the Central) tomorrow night, Friday, March 18th. The game starts at 8:30pm Eastern and will be broadcast on CSN and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Two of Blake's three assists were to a trailing Arenas for a three-pointer, so in terms of points assisted, Blake essentially had the equivalent of four total assists to go with his 17 points and two rebounds in 26 minutes. A solid effort.
Etan Thomas poured in almost a point a minute, getting 15 in 18. He also had four rebounds and two blocks.
Antawn Jamison did not play.
INJURY UPDATE
Peter John Ramos(foot),Jarvis Hayes(knee), andSamaki Walker (lower back) are all on the injured list.Antawn Jamison(knee) is out about a week.Anthony Peeler(flu, sore knee) did not play last night.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Although six of their next seven games are on the road, including a five-game road trip out West, the Wizards could come out of this month sitting pretty. Only Denver and Seattle have winning records among the five Western Conference teams Washington will face between Tuesday and March 28. And of the Wizards' remaining home games in March, neither Utah nor Atlanta (which visits MCI Center on March 30) has a winning record... [Kwame Brown] could wind up in Atlanta.That's right, don't be surprised if the Hawks are one of the teams lining up the money truck to take a shot at Wizards power forward Kwame Brown. The Hawks will have more than $20 million under the cap, and Brown grew up in Georgia.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Even short-handed, this was exactly the type of beating the Washington Wizards are supposed to administer these days.Playing one of their most balanced games in quite some time, the Wizards scorched a bad Atlanta team 122-93 in front of an announced crowd of 12,848 at Philips Arena. Washington used an 18-0 run early in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Hawks, the NBA's worst team. The victory marked the first time in more than a month Washington has won consecutive games and gave it sole possession of the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland fell a game off the pace last night with a 96-88 loss to Milwaukee, the Wizards' opponent tomorrow.
Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes sprinted toward half court, reached out his hand to get his sixth steal against the Atlanta Hawks and exploded to the basket for a two-handed dunk. As he swung and hung on the rim, Hughes looked down to make sure he would have a safe landing."I wanted to make sure nothing happened, make sure nobody was under there," Hughes said after scoring 23 points during the Wizards' 122-93 win Wednesday night. "I didn't want to hurt an ankle. Gotta take care of my body."
Greg Sandoval ofThe Washington Postwrites:In the first season since the NBA went to six divisions instead of four, the new Southeast Division was supposed to be the patsy. That began to change when the Southeast's Miami Heat obtained center Shaquille O'Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers last summer and the unexpected rise of the Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic.