Second-year guard leads late rally in win over Minnesota
Wizards forward Caron Butler described in no uncertain terms Monday what he expected in the second half of the season. The two-time All-Star said his younger teammates must finally produce.
One night later, guard Javaris Crittenton heeded Butler’s call, scoring three big baskets down the stretch and making the key assist as the Wizards rallied from six points down in the final four minutes to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-103, before 11,623 at Verizon Center.
» After indicating Monday that he was unlikely to play Andray Blatche until later in the week, Wizards coach Ed Tapscott used the 6-11 forward, who played well in his first appearance in three weeks coming off a knee injury, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds.» Kevin McHale got little from his bench. The T’Wolves reserves hit 6 of 18 shots and scored 19 points in a combined 69 minutes.
Hitting a pair of driving layups and a 20-footer from the key, Crittenton (11 points, 4 assists) took control of the Wizards offense in the fourth quarter. His biggest play, however, came when he drove the right side, drew the defense and dished across the lane to Mike James, who drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with 28 seconds left.
“Javaris has worked his way up and now he’s going to play every game,” said Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott. “He does some terrific things for us. He gives us a breakdown guy who can beat the defense one-on-one and deliver a pass.”
Wizards at NetsWhen » Friday, 8Where » Izod CenterTV/Radio » CSN/980 AM
New Jersey was 24-29 and ninth-place in the Eastern Conference going into last night’s game at Houston. The Nets feature a high-scoring backcourt of All-Star Devin Harris (21.8 points per game) and Vince Carter (20.8 ppg). The Nets suffered through their worst stretch of the season, losing eight of nine in January, but expect to get a boost in the frontcourt with the eventual return of Fs Jianlian Yi, Bobby Simmons and Eduardo Najera. New Jersey has a 2-1 edge on Washington so far, with each of the games won by the visiting team.
The basket Crittenton set up for James gave Washington a 105-101 lead and heightened a 16-5 run over the final 2 minutes, 37 seconds.
Forwards Antawn Jamison (29 points, 11 rebounds) and Butler (17 points, 6 assists) carried Washington much of the way, but at the end, turned the reigns over to Crittenton and James, who scored eight of his 15 points in the final 1:25, as Washington improved to 12-42.
“This is exactly what I expected as a captain and Antawn [expected it] as well,” said Butler. “When everything is going bad, as players and as people we take the initiative to try to do things on our own. You heard the crowd and the coaching staff really getting on us and we bounced back. I think it shows a great sign of maturity from the young guys and for us as leaders.”
Washington also got a big jumper late in the game from forward Dominic McGuire (8 points, 10 rebounds). Shockingly, none of the Wizards’ final 20 points came from a man named Butler or Jamison.
Butler, however, did trigger the final run. His 3-pointer with 4:26 to go, sliced a six-point Minnesota lead in half and energized a lethargic crowd.
“As Caron and Antawn try to get to the rim, the defense is going to suck in,” said Tapscott. “The defense isn’t set. They haven’t identified all the match-ups, so as an offense we got to the open spots. Mike knocked down two big threes because he was able to step into the shots.”
After Randy Foye (23 points) gave Minnesota (17-35) its final lead, 101-100, with 75 seconds left, Crittenton answered with his 20-footer. After the T’Wolves’ Sebastian Telfair (11 points) missed a contested layup, Crittenton made hit drive and dish to James for a 105-101 lead.
After Andray Blatche (14 points, 7 rebounds) rebounded a Foye miss, he was fouled and hit two free throws that iced it with 14 seconds to go.
“The Wizards did a great job of locking down on the defensive end,” said Foye. “We had to exert a great deal of energy in order to make an attempt at a comeback. It is no excuse but when we fall down 19 points against a team with two former All-Stars, it becomes incredibly tough to come back from that.”
The Wizards closed the first period with a 10-point run, capped by a dunk by rookie JaVale McGee, to take a 27-14 lead. In the second period, Washington extended its lead to 19 late in the second period.
The Wizards built their advantage with a combination of strong defense and terrible shooting by Minnesota (17-35), which hit 29 percent in the first half.
But the T’Wolves got back in it with a 14-0 run late in the half that included six points from rookie center Kevin Love (17 points, 11 rebounds). The Wizards made six turnovers and lost two more possessions with blocked shots in the final three minutes, allowing Minnesota to make its charge.
It stayed close in the fourth quarter, setting the scene for Crittenton’s heroics.
“He had the guts to take some big shots,” said Tapscott.
Finally, it was what the coach and his star forwards had been waiting for.
Notes » Increasingly reliable Wizards center Darius Songaila (12 points, 4 rebounds) was solid again in 21 minutes, hitting 5 of 7 from the floor.
