Bucks 96, Wizards 88
Apparently, Gilbert Arenas had one more dose of punishment to endure for faking an injury in order to miss a game, and this one came from karma itself.
Only three minutes after his entry into the Wizards’ preseason game Thursday against Milwaukee, Arenas jogged over to Flip Saunders and pulled his jersey over his mouth as he told the coach he needed to come out. After Saunders turned and gestured for Cartier Martin to get up off the bench, Arenas took a seat with what was revealed shortly thereafter as a mild right groin strain that ended his night.
With the real injury, Arenas again took attention away from rookie John Wall, who registered his first double-double of the preseason with 15 points and 11 assists in the 96-88 loss to Milwaukee.
A day after apologizing and getting fined, Arenas was kept out of the starting lineup against the 3-1 Bucks by Saunders, who again went with Nick Young, the beneficiary of Arenas’ ruse before Tuesday’s game against Atlanta.
When Arenas entered the game with 7:05 left in the first quarter, making his first Verizon Center appearance since his 50-game suspension for bringing guns into the locker room in December, the small crowd welcomed him with a standing ovation that he acknowledged with a wave.
Arenas didn’t score — missing a pair of free throw attempts — but he made three steals, blocked a shot and fed Wall over his head on the fast break before leaving the court after just 3:01.
The Wizards struggled to execute in the halfcourt, but Wall still racked up eight assists in the first half. It took him until the end of the third quarter to get the elusive 10th, when he received generous help from the scorer’s table after feeding JaVale McGee (10 points, seven rebounds), who delivered a spin move and converted an unflattering scoop shot.
For the second consecutive game, the Wizards (3-2) ramped up their intensity in the second quarter, outscoring the Bucks 35-23. But they managed only 31 total points in the second half.
Drew Gooden, who was a member of the Wizards for one practice around the trade deadline in February, had 25 points, and Carlos Delfino added 19 for Milwaukee. Andray Blatche paced the Wizards with 17 points and nine rebounds.
