The Los Angeles Clippers were missing Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. The Washington Wizards won the game.

Tread carefully around Randy Wittman when trying to connect those two thoughts.

”Hey, listen, we played enough games this year without players,” the Wizards coach said. ”Don’t give me the (bull) about who was here and who wasn’t here. … You guys would have printed it a wholly different other way if we had lost. … Now you’re going to print, ‘Ah, you won because Blake didn’t play.’ Give me a break.”

To be fair, the outburst was more playful than angry, but the point is well-taken. The Wizards will happily take Monday night’s 98-90 win - or any victory for that matter - in a season that was essentially wrecked from the get-go in part because of injuries to John Wall and Nene.

Now it’s the Clippers who are close to falling off the rails, having lost seven of nine - including six of eight without Paul. Los Angeles is 1-3 halfway through an eight-game road trip and has fallen 4 1/2 games off the Western Conference lead…

Martell Webster scored 21 points, Nene and Garrett Temple had 15 points apiece, Emeka Okafor grabbed 14 rebounds, and Wall had 13 points and eight assists for the Wizards, who broke a four-game losing streak and moved a game ahead of the league-worst Charlotte Bobcats.

DeAndre Jordan had a career-high 22 rebounds for the Clippers. Eric Bledsoe, going toe-to-toe with Wall in a duel between former Kentucky teammates, had 17 points and nine assists.

– Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.

Beal, who wins his second consecutive Kia Rookie of the Month award, led all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (15.1 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage (.508), and finished second in minutes (32.9 mpg) and third in assists (2.5 apg). Beal became the first rookie since Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in 2010 to shoot .500 or better from three-point range in a calendar month with at least 50 attempts.

Lillard, who wins his third consecutive Kia Rookie of the Month award, led all rookies in scoring (17.7 ppg), assists (6.8 apg) and minutes (39.6 mpg). Among all NBA players this season, Lillard ranks 19th in scoring (18.1 ppg), 13th in assists (6.5 apg) and seventh in three-pointers made (102). Lillard recorded his eighth game this season of 20-plus points and eight-plus assists on Jan. 23 during a 100-80 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were Cleveland’s Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, Detroit’s Andre Drummond and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis.

Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 16 rebounds, helping the surging Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 86-73 on Saturday night.

John Wall and Nene each scored 16 points for Washington, which has won consecutive games for the second time this season. The Wizards have won five straight at home for the first time in five years, and seven of 10 overall.

It’s a marked improvement from the start of the season, when Washington (11-31) dropped 28 of its first 32 games.

Chicago had won a season-high three in a row for the third time.

Nate Robinson scored 19 points for the Bulls, and Joakim Noah narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, which equaled his career high.

The Wizards outscored Chicago 23-11 in the third quarter to take a 73-55 lead. The 11 points were a season low for the Bulls. Chicago had twice as many turnovers (six) as field goals (three) in the period…

Chicago F Luol Deng missed his fifth straight game with a strained right hamstring.

– Reported by the Associated Press

At the midpoint of their season, and with John Wall back in the starting lineup, the Washington Wizards finally lifted themselves off the bottom of the NBA.

Wall had 14 points and five assists in his first start of the season, and Washington finally hit double digits in wins Friday night with a 114-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wizards have won four straight at home and no longer have the league’s worst record, their 10-31 record a half-game better than the Charlotte Bobcats’ 10-32.

”You’re not going to hear any good thing about your team or organization if you’re not winning games, and that’s all we’re trying to do - is just win,” Wall said. ”You don’t want to end up as the last team.”

Wall, who came off the bench for the first seven games after his return from a knee injury, had assists on the Wizards’ first two baskets in a game in which Washington never trailed. He wowed the crowd with a nice spin move for a layup late in the first half and went 6 for 10 from the field in 21 minutes, his playing time still limited after missing 33 games with a stress injury to his left knee cap..

The Wizards are 5-3 since Wall’s return after going 5-28 without him…

Jordan Crawford added 19 points, and Bradley Beal had 16 points and a career-high four blocks for the Wizards, who shot a season-high 58 percent. Beal had the best sequence for anyone not named Wall: The rookie chased down Luke Ridnour to block a fast-break layup, crashed into the front row, got up and hit a jumper at the other end to make the score 70-51 in the third…

Ricky Rubio had four points on 1-for-8 shooting, six assists, five rebounds and five turnovers, another trying day in a difficult week that included an apology to acting coach Terry Porter for getting upset over playing time in the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

– Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

For most of the first half of the season, the Washington Wizards consistently lost. They’re suddenly unbeatable, having won three straight.

Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 11 rebounds, leading six players in double figures as Washington cruised to its easiest win of the season, 120-91 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

”That was a beautiful thing tonight,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. ”This has been building.”

The Wizards were just 4-28 before their streak, but beat Oklahoma City, Atlanta and now Orlando - all at home - to nearly double their wins total. Washington leaves Tuesday on a five-game, eight-day road trip while the nation’s capital will be consumed by Inauguration ceremonies.

John Wall had 12 points and six assists in 20 minutes in his second game of the season after missing the Wizards’ first 33 with a left knee injury…

Washington shot a season-best 56.1 percent, scored its most points and had its most assists. Emeka Okafor had 19 points and 11 rebounds, A.J. Price and Kevin Seraphin had 18, Beal scored 17, and Jan Vesely matched his season high with 10…

Jameer Nelson had 19 points and 12 assists to lead Orlando, and Nikola Vucevic added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Arron Afflalo, who had 30 points against the Clippers, missed 10 of 11 from the field and finished with two points…

Magic F Hedo Turkoglu did not play for the third straight game. He scored just one point in 37 minutes in his three previous games.

– Reported by the Associated Press

John Wall gave his teammates a lift with 14 points and four assists in his first game of the season, and the worst-in-NBA Washington Wizards have their first winning streak after a 93-83 victory Saturday night over the Atlanta Hawks.

Wall’s playing time will be limited as he returns from a knee injury, but he appeared to have his old speed and explosiveness back while playing seven minutes in the first half and 15 in the second half.

No. 3 overall pick Bradley Beal, getting to play with Wall for the first time, scored 16 points for the Wizards, who are 6-28 but have strung together two wins in a row following their upset of Oklahoma City on Monday.

A.J Price added 16 points and Martell Webster had 15 for the Wizards, who never trailed in the second half.

Jeff Teague scored 19 points, Al Horford had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Smith added 11 points for the Hawks, who have lost five of six. Atlanta had won 18 of its previous 19 against Washington, including six in a row.

– Reported by Joseph White of the Associated Press

Bradley Beal didn’t have a plan. What he had was a good move.

Beal made a jumper with 0.3 seconds left Monday night, lifting the short-handed Washington Wizards a 101-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, who missed 16 straight shots at one stretch.

Beal used a pump fake to get open for the 16-footer that gave the Wizards (5-28) their second win this season over last year’s NBA finalists.

”I didn’t know what I was going to do to be honest with you,” Beal said. ”Coach just said go make a play.”

Once Beal sent the Thunder (26-8) to the showers, they were doused with cold water in the away arena.

The Wizards (5-28), playing without their top two scorers, had lost 13 of their previous 14, but they also beat the Miami Heat earlier in the season. Beal and Martell Webster led the Washington with 22 points each.

Kevin Seraphin added 19 points, and Emeka Okafor had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Kevin Durant, who had 29 points, drove through the lane for a thunderous dunk to cut Oklahoma City’s deficit to 95-94 with just more than two minutes left. Martell Webster answered with a four-point play to give the Wizards a 99-94 lead…

Serge Ibaka stepped up as Durant’s complement, scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds…

Nene (right knee tendinitis) and Jordan Crawford (sore left ankle) missed the game with injuries.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived guard Shelvin Mack.

Mack, who signed as a free agent with Washington on December 25, 2012, appeared in seven games, including two starts, and averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 20.1 minutes per contest.

Mack was originally selected by Washington with the 34 th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and appeared in training camp with the Wizards this season before being waived on October 28. He spent the first 11 games of the 2012-13 season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League prior to re-signing with the Wizards on December 25.

The team’s roster now stands at 14 players.

LeBron James scored 24 points and the Miami Heat had a rebounding edge for a change Sunday to beat the woeful Washington Wizards 99-71.

The Heat, beaten on the boards by a total of 38 rebounds over the previous three games, this time enjoyed a 50-39 advantage. Udonis Haslem led them with 12 rebounds, and Chris Bosh had nine.

The game matched the teams with the best and worst records in the Eastern Conference, and in the late going it looked like it. Miami scored the game’s final 21 points and held Washington scoreless over the last 7:07.

James extended his streaks of scoring at least 20 points to 32 consecutive games this season, and 53 in a row including last year’s playoff run. He shot 9 for 17 and had seven assists.

The Heat were coming off only their third home loss of the season Friday against Chicago.

– Reported by Steven Wine of the Associated Press 

Exactly three hours after the game started, Joe Johnson finally won an exhausting game for the Brooklyn Nets.

Johnson’s 18-footer with 0.7 seconds left in the second overtime lifted the Nets to a 115-113 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Bradley Beal’s two free throws tied the score at 113 with 9.1 seconds to play before Johnson, who had 18 points, hit the shot that improved Brooklyn to 4-1 under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo…

Brook Lopez had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, and Deron Williams added 24 points and 10 assists.

Beal had a career-high 24 points. Jordan Crawford scored 23 points and Nene, who fouled out in the first overtime, had 20 for Washington, which lost its fourth in a row and is now 4-27…

The game featured the return of Andray Blatche, who was let go by Washington last summer after seven stormy seasons. The Wizards used the amnesty provision on Blatche, who was banished from the team by Wittman last March for poor conditioning.

Blatche was booed by the crowd when he entered with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter. Moments later, with the crowd still booing, he hit his first shot and then drew laughs when he tripped as he ran down the court. He had 13 points and 12 rebounds…

Brooklyn was without G C.J. Watson (bruised right knee) and F Kris Humphries (sprained left ankle). F/G Jerry Stackhouse returned after missing Wednesday’s game at Oklahoma City with a sore right hamstring.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Good enough to beat the Wizards, not good enough to satisfy Paul George.

George had 29 points and 14 rebounds, leading the Indiana Pacers to an 89-81 victory over Washington on Wednesday night.

”I’m glad we got this win but we’ve got to look past this,” George said. ”We didn’t do a good enough job executing.

”Luckily we made enough shots to win, but we didn’t do a good job at all of executing. We let them pressure us and get us out of stuff; we play tough teams and that’s not going to fly.”

The Wizards (4-26) came into the game with the NBA’s worst record, and had lost eight straight against the Central Division-leading Pacers (19-13)…

Roy Hibbert added 13 points for the Pacers, who won their sixth straight home game. Ian Mahinmi added nine points and 11 rebounds.

Jordan Crawford scored 20 points to lead Washington, which fell to 1-14 on the road this season. Kevin Seraphin scored 16, Nene added 15 points and Bradley Beal scored 14 for the Wizards, who never led in losing for the third straight game.

– Reported by Andy Proffet of the Associated Press

Vince Carter scored 23 points, O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison each added 15 to help the Dallas Mavericks break their six-game losing streak with a 103-94 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

When the Wizards, who are now 4-25, took a 14-point lead early in the second quarter, Dallas, which had arrived in Washington in the midst of its longest skid in nearly 14 years, rallied. They trailed by four at the half, and then outscored the Wizards 35-19 in the third quarter to take an 83-71 lead.

The Mavericks were ahead 99-84 with 3:28 to play, but Washington scored eight straight to cut the lead to seven, but Carter, making just the second start of the season threw down an emphatic dunk with 1:11 to play to make it 101-93.

Six players scored in double figures for Dallas. Chris Kaman scored 12 points and Shawn Marion had 11 points with a season-high 14 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki played in just his fifth game since returning from right knee surgery and added 11.

Bradley Beal equaled a career high with 22 points for the Wizards. Emeka Okafor had 14 and 11 rebounds. Martel Webster also had 14.

– Reported by the Associated Press

The Washington Wizards are desperate for whatever help they can get.

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent guards Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple.

Mack (6-3, 207) was originally selected by Washington with the 34th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.  In 11 games this season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, he has averaged 19.7 points (ranked sixth) and a D-League best 7.5 assists in 40.7 minutes per contest.  He was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week on December 10.  In 64 games during his rookie campaign with the Wizards, Mack averaged 3.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 12.2 minutes per game.  The former Butler Bulldog averaged 4.1 points in eight games during the 2012 preseason with Washington before being waived on October 28, 2012.

Temple (6-6, 195) was undrafted out of LSU in 2009.  In nine games this season with the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, he has averaged 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 36 minutes per contest.  Temple has appeared in 51 career NBA games with the Rockets, Kings, Spurs, Bucks and Bobcats while averaging 3.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.  In 63 career D-League games, he holds averages of 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists with Rio Grande, Erie and Reno.  The former Tiger spent the 2012-13 preseason with Miami, appearing in six games and tallying 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived guard Shaun Livingston and center/forward Earl Barron.

Livingston, who was originally signed as a free agent on November 15, averaged 3.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 17 games (four starts).  Barron, who was originally signed as a free agent on September 19, averaged 2.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 11 games (one start).

The Wizards roster now stands at 13.

Jan Vesely waited by bench to greet his teammates with applause and hand slaps at halftime of Wizards’ 104-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at Philips Arena. He didn’t leave until Nene was the last player to walk of the court and joined him on the journey to the locker room.

Vesely remains a supportive teammate in the only way he can, now that he hasn’t been able to provide much assistance on the court. The struggling second-year forward from the Czech Republic has fallen so far out of the rotation that he was the only healthy Wizard on the roster that didn’t make an appearance in the loss to Atlanta.

With the Wizards trailing by 13 in the final minute, Coach Randy Wittman called on veteran Earl Barron to replace Nene and finish out the game. Vesely has received a DNP-Coach’s Decision in each of the past two games but Wittman said recently that he hasn’t given up on the sixth overall pick of the 2011 draft.

– Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)

Ten weeks after the Wizards announced that John Wall would miss “approximately” eight weeks because of a stress injury in his left patella, the injured point guard is still unable to practice, scrimmage or even elevate to shoot.

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld and Wall both referred to the injury as a “bump in the road” that wouldn’t keep him down for long, but the team now has no timetable for his return. His extended absence has raised concerns, but Coach Randy Wittman acknowledged Thursday that the original estimate was actually eight-to-12 weeks. Wittman began to panic when a reporter asked if Wall would return this season.

“I hope so. What the heck is that? You’re scaring me,” Wittman said before cursing a few times. “I just talked to my mother again today. I don’t know what to tell you. I’m not looking at it like that”

He added, “We’re not hiding anything here.”

– Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post (Blog)

Well, to pretty much everyone’s surprise, the Wizards doubled their season victory total, beating the Heat 105-101 on Tuesday night behind Jordan Crawford’s 22 points - and despite James’ triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists…

The Wizards improved to 2-13, earning their second win in the past three games after starting a franchise-worst 0-12…

Afterward, with his feet soaking in a tub of ice, and his eyes scanning a box score, James chuckled a bit at the notion that Miami might learn something from the surprising setback.

”Nah, man, there’s not no lesson. This ain’t a lesson for us. We just lost,” James explained. ”We’ve seen and been through everything, so we don’t need a loss to be like, ‘Oh, let’s catch ourselves.’ It happens.”

He missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left that could have given the Heat a lead, and another from beyond the arc that would have tied the score with 3.9 to go…

With a crowd of 17,761 - not, incidentally, a sellout - standing and screaming down the stretch, relishing that rare chance to witness a compelling game, Kevin Seraphin contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts, while Crawford made three free throws in the final 11 seconds…

– Reported by Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press

Miami’s all-star trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 70 points, but the Wizards helped keep the rest of the Heat players in check. The Heat (12-4) also struggled from beyond the three-point line, missed 20 of its 28 attempts from long distance, including five in a row after former Wizard Mike Miller made a three-pointer that brought his team within 97-95 with 4 minutes 16 seconds left.

James had his first triple-double of the season with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists but he missed a three-pointer that could’ve tied the score with 3.9 seconds remaining.

Nene clinched the victory by grabbing the rebound and making a free throw.

“We know that every team is going to come playing their very best. They’re going to make shots they normally don’t make,” said James, who learned how much the tides have turned since he became an NBA champion, as he received the loudest cheers of any player; unusual for a player once despised in Washington during some infamous playoff battles with the Wizards between 2006-08.

– Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

Trevor Booker is no longer going to be listed as day-to-day with a strained right knee.

Booker has missed the past five games since getting injured in a loss against Indiana nearly two weeks ago, but Coach Randy Wittman said on Sunday there is still “soreness and swelling” in Booker’s knee and that the energetic forward wouldn’t return for “probably another couple of weeks.”

While traveling with the team to New York last week, Booker visited with a doctor who informed him that he needed to rest for a while longer before coming back.

“They said I shouldn’t play until don’t have any pain,” Booker said. “I’ll wait for that to clear up, but I’m feeling better each day.”

– Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post

After their worst start in history, the Washington Wizards became a national punch line. On TNT, Charles Barkley compared them with the Washington Generals, and a local newspaper had photos of fans wearing paper bags over their heads at Monday’s 26-point loss to San Antonio.

The jokes can stop - at least for now.

Washington earned its first victory after starting the season with 12 straight losses, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 84-82 on Wednesday night.

”When you’re 0-12, guys are going to make fun. That’s our business, guys,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said…

Washington survived a scoreless 6:47 in the fourth when Jordan Crawford, who had 19 points, hit on a 3-pointer with 2:06 to play. The Wizards finally took the 84-82 lead on Emeka Okafor’s two free throws with 39.1 seconds remaining…

Trevor Ariza had 14 and Kevin Seraphin added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which ended the third quarter on a 23-7 run to take a 68-59 lead, then padded its lead to 15 barely three minutes into the fourth…

Lillard and Nicolas Batum led Portland, losers of three straight, with 20. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17. Hickson had 15 points and 19 rebounds.

– Reported by the Associated Press 

After playing a surprising 29 minutes off the bench in the Wizards’ 108-106 double overtime loss to Charlotte, Nene slouched in his locker room stall, left foot in a bucket of ice, and joked with teammate Kevin Seraphin that he needed a teleporter to take him to the training room.

Nene eventually got up and moved around on his own strength afterward. But he was a spectator for Sunday’s light practice, looking on in a red T-shirt and leaving for the locker room afterward, accompanied by the team masseuse.

Coach Randy Wittman said he expects to have the Brazilian big man in uniform when the Wizards host San Antonio on Monday, though conditioning remains a concern for games that basically amount to training camp and preseason with Nene missing three months of action.

– Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post