Saunders plays James for first time since Nov.
Mike James said it was like being half asleep — and he didn’t mean because Verizon Center on Sunday afternoon at times felt more like a library than a sports arena.
“You hear somebody calling you, and you’re like, ‘I think somebody’s calling me right now, but I’m not going to get up,'” said James, who was called into action for the first time since Nov. 6. “It was one of those things. I’m not used to hearing my name be called.”
That the well-paid yet underused point guard saw meaningful minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers was the only thing that was different for the Washington Wizards, whose desperate search for a spark forced head coach Flip Saunders to play the one guy he’s all but ignored this year.
But the result was still the same, as the Wizards repeatedly dug themselves holes and then fizzled out with their lowest-scoring quarter of the season in a 92-78 loss.
Coming off a 20-point loss, the Clippers (20-23) had six different players score in double figures, led by Chris Kaman (20 points), Baron Davis (11 points, 11 assists) and Marcus Camby (12 points, 19 rebounds).
Coming off a 24-point loss, the Wizards (14-29) relinquished the lead at 7-9 and never got it back. Washington gave up a 7-0 run early in the second quarter, a 12-0 run early in the third, and then scored just 10 points in the fourth.
“Our starters haven’t given us a consistent effort to start games,” said Saunders, “and then our bench, they talk about playing, wanting to play. They’ve had opportunities and they continue to not produce at the time that they need to.”
Despite double-doubles from Antawn Jamison (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Brendan Haywood (18 points, 12 rebounds), Saunders called for James with two minutes, 23 seconds left in the second quarter.
James, who hadn’t played in 36 games, immediately hit a runner off the glass during an 8-0 run that helped Washington get to within 48-46 at halftime.
“When he called my name, he had to call it a few times,” said James, who finished with 11 points. “The first time, in the beginning of the season, he called Mike Miller’s name. He said, ‘Mike,’ and he said it twice, and I hopped up and ran to the scorer’s table, and he was like, ‘Not you. The other Mike.’ So I said I’ll never make that mistake again. It takes me some time now.”
