Hey, a Wizards win for a change, 100-85 over Milwaukee, which should be better than it played tonight. But Washington feels like it should be better than the eight-game losing streak it carried into the evening. Finally, they have some proof.
“Sometimes you have to have a win to show people that you are playing better,” said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. “Now we have some things to talk about, like beating them on the boards and holding them to 43% shooting. We have some things to look at now and work on before Saturday’s game, which should be a good one against the best performing team in the league.”
What the Wizards do have, if nothing else, is a cupboard full of highlights. What is the deal with SportsCenter Top 10 plays in the last week? Goodness. Following in the footsteps of Trevor Booker and Al Thornton, Nick Young (game-high 26 points) had the monster jam of the night, putting Ersan Ilyasova on a poster in the second quarter with his right-handed jam from a drive off the left wing. Young got the Turkish big man again in the third quarter shortly after finishing off a fast break alley oop.
Asked if he ever had three dunks in game, Young responded, “Ain’t that the first? I think that’s the first. I was feeling good.”
But Andray Blatche (12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists) also got into the act, crossing over Ilyasova after he retrieved a loose ball en route to a neat layup finish, and even Kirk Hinrich (10 points, 4 assists) rejected a John Salmons shot into the first row.
“He bring out the bunnies, man, bring out his hops,” said Cartier Martin (15 points), who hit a career-high five 3-pointers, all of them big. “That was a nice block, and I’m always rooting for all of our guys. He made a good play, and I’m off the bench cheering him on.”
On second thought, shouldn’t the Bucks have just used Keyon Dooling and Earl Boykins again? After the duo combined for 42 points in the teams’ previous meeting in Milwaukee on Jan. 19, they managed only eight points together tonight, partly because Boykins – who came into the night with a 11-5 career record against the Wizards – only played a single minute. Sure, Brandon Jennings had 20 points, but he needed 24 shots to get there, and Salmons only had four of his 14 points after halftime.
“We stopped their guards today,” said John Wall “The last game, their guards beat us to the rim and got any shots they wanted. That’s how they won the game when we were in Milwaukee. I think we did both of those things good: rebound the ball and contain their guards.”
They had some help from Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles.
JaVale McGee’s big night (16 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks) came in part because the Bucks shot so poorly, and Saunders then singled him out as an example of why Washington still has an ugly tendency of imploding late on the road.
“As we explained to him at the end when he started going on his dribbling exhibition, that’s one of the reasons that we lose on the road because we get in close games, and we do those things,” said Saunders. “I asked him, said why, and he says I can’t explain. You can’t do that because then players lose trust throwing him the ball in late-game situations and you become easier for teams to defend against you and put more pressure on you, especially if you’re up a couple. That’s the most glaring negative we had.”
McGee did outplay Andrew Bogut (12 points, 11 rebounds), who carried the Bucks to the playoffs last year. Now, Bogut isn’t fully back from his gruesome elbow injury last year, but McGee needs tonight’s performance to inspire him going forward.
“He’s a force in there when he wants to be and he’s active and in tune to what we’re doing,” said Hinrich. “He rebounded very well tonight.”
Saunders said Martin got the game ball for preventing a late collapse. Martin said the three-pointers were no big deal.
“John has a lot of confidence in me,” said Martin. “He knows I can shoot the ball just from practice and playing with him throughout the season. That’s what I do, I go in and shoot, and he’s a good point guard and he finds me when I’m open and I knock down shots for him.”
The Wizards managed with multiple injuries, but they’re not out of the woods in that department, by any stretch. Al Thornton (dislocated right middle finger) sat, as did Yi Jianlian (sprained left ankle), Josh Howard (left knee soreness) and Hamady Ndiaye (left knee injury). Meanwhile, Rashard Lewis played but Saunders warned that he was having knee issues. Lewis lasted 24 minutes but had exactly zero lift and gave a grim prognosis as he was leaving the locker room after the game. We’ll have to see more tomorrow for details.
Wall (15 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds) got home safely last night from Lexington, and Blatche couldn’t wait to do the same tonight. Eight defeats in row all done. The first win since Jan. 22 on the board. And the best team in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs, visit on Saturday, before the most anticipated game of the year – for all the wrong reasons – when the Wizards visit Cleveland on Sunday. But let’s not get there just yet. One thing at a time, which means ending the losing streak will do.
“It’s been a while,” said Blatche. “But it feels good. I’m going to go home, relax and watch the game again on TV and just have a good night and get ready for practice tomorrow.”
