Here’s the Washington Post blog reporting on the Wizards, who on Thursday won a hard-fought triple-overtime battle against the Toronto Raptors:
Trevor Ariza was plowing through a plate of chicken and vegetables in the locker room after the Wizards completed a 3-hour 32-minute marathon with the Toronto Raptors. Ariza usually takes his time to hit the postgame buffet table after road games, but he was in a hurry to grab some grub on Thursday night. Playing almost 50 minutes will do that.
“Pretty tired. Hungry and tired,” Ariza said, when asked about how he felt after the Wizards survived a highly competitive and physically taxing triple-overtime game and left Air Canada Centre with a 134-129 victory. “It was the longest game in the world. You give it all so at the end of the game you’re totally drained. I was drained.”
The Washington basketball franchise hadn’t played a game that needed three overtimes since the Bullets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 110-109, on Nov. 15, 1975 – before all but three current NBA players were born (Steve Nash, Derek Fisher and Ray Allen). Wizards broadcaster Phil Chenier was a member of that Bullets team; he and Wes Unseld each scored 25 points that night. When asked his recollection of that contest in the locker room after Thursday’s game, Chenier said, “I don’t remember any of it.”
Chenier’s broadcast partner Steve Buckhantz let him know the Bullets lost that night, to which he said, “That’s probably why I don’t remember.”
