Via The Examiner’s Pick & Roll blog — the best way to follow the Wizards’ four-game road swing out West, which continues Wednesday in Sacramento (10:30, ESPN/Comcast SportsNet) — here are three thoughts about Washington’s 97-95 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, their fifth defeat in a row:
The Wizards (7-15) hinted early they would blow a 17-point lead in the third quarter, missing 13 of their first 15 shots in the second period, too. The starters, who were responsible for getting Washington so far ahead, got themselves gassed, and the bench had no rhythm whatsoever (13 points combined for six players, who averaged a +/- rating of -9.7).
At least Gilbert Arenas made his free throws. Ditching the three ball orbits around his waist routine, Arenas made seven of his final eight from the line, part of 16 points, four steals and nine assists. But he also had six turnovers and fouled out with 2 minutes, 51 seconds to play … at which point Caron Butler (20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals) became a new man. Invigorated by Arenas’s departure, Butler scored nine of Washington’s final 11 points.
Led by Antawn Jamison (32 points, 11 rebounds), Washington’s Big Three were solid, but the Clippers (10-13) had the go-to players. Baron Davis (14 points, 12 assists) fed Chris Kaman at will, helping him score 19 of his 23 points in the second half. Eric Gordon also had a season high-matching 29 points, and Rasual Butler had 12 in the first half against Washington’s reserves, and hit a huge three-pointer late in the fourth.
