It’s funny how a game that really had nothing to do with an individual battle between the top two picks in the 2010 NBA Draft ends up being pretty well explained by the performances of those two rookies. But then again, the Wizards’ 116-114 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday was a funny game.
When the Wizards and the 76ers met on Nov. 2, number one overall pick John Wall was starting for Washington while Evan Turner, the guy picked right after him, came off the bench.
Three weeks later, Wall was the guy on the bench coming off an injury layoff while Turner was the guy in the starting lineup.
From there, the rookies’ games were actually similar to their first meeting, with Wall again inspiring a team that was desperate for a spark, and Turner making a difference down the stretch but not making the crucial play.
And thus a rivalry is born.
Wall was actually worse than his 0-for-6 start from the field would indicate. He had no lift on his jump shot, no explosion with his first step, no rhythm or tempo with an offense that had started to run more sets in his absence over the last four games.
“I told him at the first half, what you’re doing is you haven’t played a lot of time, you’re settling on taking perimeter shots,” said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. “You’ve got to get your motor going. You’ve got to get to the basket a few times, get hit a little bit, loosen up, and then you’re outside game will come to you.”
Wall got his first point from a free throw after a defensive 3-second call, then drew contact on his first field goal, then finished the second half with 25 points, including three 3-pointers for the same guy that looked like he could barely get off the ground in the first half.
Turner, meanwhile, entered the fourth quarter with just three points, but the Sixers turned to him in the final minute, and he was poised in his response. First, he hit a 16-foot jumper with 45 seconds that gave Philadelphia a 102-97 lead. Then, it was two free throws to make it 104-99, then two more free throws to make it 106-103 with 11.8 seconds left. But when he needed just one more to make it a two-possession game with 8.0 seconds left, Turner missed consecutive attempts at the line.
“I had an opportunity to make some free-throws to put (the game) away,” said Turner. “They ended up going out. I don’t ever, ever do that. I don’t know how that happened.”
What happened next? Wall took control, went right at Jrue Holiday, who fouled him 40-feet away from the basket, only to see Wall rise and get a shot attempt off to earn himself a trio of free throw attempts.
And he made them all.
“I could tell by the way he was walking up to me that he was going to foul me,” said Wall, who said nothing was going through his mind on the line but to concentrate and make the shots.
Tie game, 106-106. Overtime. Wizards win, again.
“He made a vet move, heard a whistle, threw it up, got three shots and showed big ones to go up there and make all three in that type of situation,” said Saunders.
And whether it’s fair or not, the gap grows wider between pick No. 1 and pick No. 2 last spring.
“You better keep all sharp objects away from [Sixers head coach] Doug [Collins] because he’s come in here twice, they’ve had two games where they’ve been right there, and they’ve played very well,” said Saunders. “But they’re like us. They’re a young team so what happens is you do things down the stretch that veteran teams don’t do.”
The John Wall Watch (25 points, 6 assists)
Once Wall got going, his emotion on the court starting to bubble up, whether it was a turnover and an arm pump or raise hands indicating “three points” after a big shot.
In a game that featured plenty of trash talking, he and Mareese Speights earned a double technical foul after they got into one another, jawing after Wall had fouled Turner in the lane.
“It seemed like every time they scored or got a big run, Speights was looking at our bench going into a timeout saying something so. That kind of sparked us, not letting anybody say anything to us. We wasn’t going to do nothing bad or say something back, but it was just motivation.
Afterward, Wall was proud of himself for not getting a technical foul, but perhaps because of the double technical call, he didn’t realize he actually did.
The Gilbert Arenas Game (17 points, 7 assists, 8 turnovers)
Arenas didn’t have his best game going, but he still made big shots when needed, both from behind the 3-point line and at the charity stripe, and of course, he made the right decision to be unselfish on the game-winning basket in overtime.
“It was same thing going through my mind against Detroit, and they put a shooter on that side so if I did decide to drive, I had the shooter,” said Arenas. “But I seen Nick come off so naked by himself that I had to pass it to him.”
Ballers
JaVale McGee (24 points, career-high 18 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists)
“Ever since Javale was put on the all-star ballot, he’s played like an all-star,” said Saunders. “He’s played great in playing his role. I think that his big thing. If he can stay and play within his role and not try to play outside of his role, he becomes so much more effective.”
Anyone willing to check the tape and count McGee’s blocks might find there are more, too.
Nick Young (19 points)
“My first game winner,” said Young. “It feels great right now. I tried to go for the tie at first, but it didn’t work out for me. I’m glad I got a second chance. Gil had faith in me. My coach had faith in me, and I’m happy I knocked it down.”
Trevor Booker (one rebound, one steal)
You read the stat line correct, but Booker extended the game when he tied up Andres Nocioni with 20 seconds left and the Sixers up, 104-101. Instead of seeing the margin go to two possessions, the Wizards got the ball back on the jump and Arenas made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one again.
Busts
Al Thornton
Injury or not – he left the game in the first half with a sprained left ankle – Thornton hasn’t been right since the abdominal strain he suffered against Charlotte on Nov. 12. He had averaged 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds the last six games, including the Bobcats game, coming into tonight.
Portrait play
Clearly, it’s Elton Brand’s mammoth shove of a dunking McGee with 3 minutes, 32 seconds remaining. The flagrant two foul got Brand ejected – the same guy who’d been scoring at will in the paint in the first half. The Wizards had already cut into Philly’s 15-point fourth-quarter margin by then, but it added fuel to the fire.
McGee, while lying on the ground, waved goodbye to Brand as he walked off the court.
“He fouled me hard,” said McGee. “He had to go.”
Stat of the night
The Wizards’ 5-2 record at home is their best start at Verizon Center since 2006-07. They remain 0-6 on the road.
Other stats from this game were remarkably even: Rebounds: PHI 48, WAS 45; Fouls: 21-21; Steals, 8-8; Turnovers, 15-15; Blocks, PHI 6, WAS 7; Points off turnovers, PHI 16, WAS 18.
