Washington has won five of last eight games
Even if the Wizards win their home finale Monday and their final game of the year two days later, they won’t finish with as many wins as they had last season. But their latest campaign, though extremely painful at times, appears destined to end on a solid note.
The overwhelming demolition of playoff-bound Atlanta on Saturday gave the Wizards (22-58) their fourth win in the last six games and the fifth in their last eight, by far their best stretch of the season. Last year, Washington closed by winning five of its final nine games.
“Over the last three weeks we have really competed in all of the games we played,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “Even the games we lost, we still got back in and made a serious game out of them with the work we put in. Our guys haven’t given up. They have been fighting all the way through.”
| Up next |
| Celtics at Wizards |
| When » Monday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » Comcast SportsNet |
Glossing over the Wizards’ 25-game losing streak on the road to start the season — which may have been the most painful part of the year — Saunders pointed out after last week’s win over Detroit that his team had already bested last year’s home record of 15-26 by three games.
Washington got to 19 wins at Verizon Center with its victory over the Hawks, in which Andray Blatche notched a game-high 23 points. It was the sixth-year forward’s sixth straight game with at least 20 points, and his scoring average of 25.5 points in the month of April is eighth in the NBA.
“That last home game is basically going to be for ourselves and for the fans,” Blatche said of Monday’s visit by the Celtics (55-25). “Let [our fans] know that even though it’s been a bad season, we are starting to grow into a great team. Let them know that next year should be different for us.”
Boston had little trouble with the Wizards on Friday at TD Garden — getting double-doubles from Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo in a 104-88 victory — but after losing to the Heat (56-24) in Miami on Sunday, the Celtics need a victory to stay in the hunt for the second playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, which could determine homecourt advantage in a potential Eastern Conference semifinal series against Miami.
