A hot-shooting guard charmed the media, seeking nicknames, talking trash and reminding teammates they weren’t in his class. It’s exactly what the Wizards needed — and it wasn’t even Gilbert Arenas.
This time, it was DeShawn Stevenson, who pumped in a season-high 23 points to help Washington beat visiting Minnesota, 112-100, on Tuesday night.
“I’m Mr. 50,” Stevenson said, referring to his 50.1 shooting percentage for the season after Tuesday night’s nine of 11 performance. “No one can talk to me unless they’re shooting 50 percent.”
That leaves two Wizards: Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood. But not Gilbert Arenas, though Arenas was getting closer to his old self — a good sign for Washington. He scored 38 points on 12 of 24 shooting — and 13 of 15 from the line — to lead all scorers. Arenas still struggled outside, missing seven of eight 3-pointers, but he consistently drove and made plays.
The Wizards have now won two straight and are 3-4 since Antawn Jamison was hurt in late January. He’ll miss another 10 days to three weeks with the sprained knee. But the Wizards showed again last night that they can compete without him, at least against sub .500 teams.
Forward Andray Blatche had seven points and 12 rebounds, while playing solid defense against his childhood idol Kevin Garnett (26 points).
“We’ve figured it out that it won’t be one guy who goes out and gives us 20 points and 10 rebounds,” forward Caron Butler, who had 15 points, said. “It’ll be a collective effort. Everyone is stepping up to the challenge.”
