The Wizards are starting to resemble their former selves. Remember the nasty, defensive-minded Wizards of January who beat Boston back-to-back?
Well, those Wizards and their leader, Caron Butler, are back, evidenced by a 95-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons Sunday night at Verizon Center.
Led by Antawn Jamison (24 points, 12 rebounds), an increasingly assertive Butler (17 points, 6 assists), Brendan Haywood (16 points) and a refueled defense that hounded the Pistons into 43 percent shooting from the floor, Washington held its third straight opponent in the 80s and won for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Washington (36-33) pulled away in the fourth quarter as Roger Mason drained a pair of 3-pointers. Then Haywood iced it with a dunk off a feed from Butler, drawing a foul and completing a 3-point play with 1 minute, 41 seconds left.
Antonio Daniels (nine assists) also hit a late clutch shot and resurgent Darius Songaila (10 points) continued his strong play, hitting 5 of 6 shots from the floor in 15 productive minutes.
