Washington
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Washington Wizards downed the Milwaukee Bucks 119-112last night to snap a five-game losing streak, clinch a winning season, and nearly clinch a playoff berth. They are in the sixth seed, two games ahead of Cleveland, meaning they would face the Boston Celtics if the playoffs started today. Gilbert Arenas made a statement with his game by avoiding his own shot and creating for teammates: he finished with eight points and 13 assists.
The beneficiaries of his assists were primarily big men Kwame Brown and Etan Thomas who got set up for lots of dunks. Each finished with 17 points. Antawn Jamison had 32 and Larry Hughes had 23, who also chipped in with 7 assists. Juan Dixon was a bundle of energy off the bench, scoring 12 points in 15 minutes.
After scoring a career-high 44 points in Saturday's loss to the Sixers, Arenas made a determined effort not to shoot this game. He attempted just 9 field goals and made all eight of his points in the fourth quarter, mainly from the line.
In earning his 100th coaching victory, Eddie Jordan said he is trusting Arenas more and more each day. "Gil managed the game very well. He was certainly a point guard tonight," he said. "That is 'Gilbertology,' as we call it."
NEXT GAME
The Wizards (42-35, second in the Southeast) continue their home stand by hosting the Chicago Bulls (44-33, second in the Central) tomorrow night. The game starts at 8:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on CSN and ESPN.
TEAM NOTES
The Wizards have announced that tickets to Game Oneand Game Twoof the first round of the NBA Playoffs are on sale now!
INJURY UPDATE
Anthony Peeler(knee),Jarvis Hayes(knee), andBrendan Haywood (thumb fracture) are all on the injured list.
Michael Lee ofThe Washington Postwrites: Washington Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan isn't one for bold public proclamations, but he declared that his team's five-game losing streak was over about an hour before tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks."It's a new day," Jordan said, speaking with the confidence of someone who knew exactly what was in store for his team. But how could he have expected this? Forward Antawn Jamison -- who has been hampered by right knee tendinitis -- diving across the scorers' table for a loose ball and looking spry as he scored a team-high 32 points? Much-maligned forward Kwame Brown eliciting cheers at MCI Center while connecting on his first five shots en route to a season-high 17 points? And point guard Gilbert Arenas reluctant to shoot for more than three quarters?
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Perhaps Gilbert Arenas wanted to prove a point.The last time Washington played Milwaukee, he set a career high in shots, and the Wizards lost. Last night, he barely shot at all, and the Wizards ended their season-long five-game losing streak with a 119-112 victory before 14,205 at MCI Center over a Bucks team that almost never wins on the road.
John N. Mitchell ofThe Washington Timeswrites: Damone Brown, who was at the end of his second 10-day contract with the Wizards, signed for the remainder of the season.In 12 games, Brown has averaged 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.