Washington Wizards Blog – Page 44 – NBA Blog

Bobcats win 119-114, end Wizards 3-game win streak

Although the Charlotte Bobcats have been eliminated from playoff contention, Kemba Walker believes the young team can still take something from the season’s final 16 games.

Most notably learning how to win close games like Monday night.

Gerald Henderson had 27 points and Walker came up with a flurry of big plays in the closing minutes helping the Bobcats overcome a five-point deficit and beat Washington 119-114 to snap the Wizards’ three-game win streak.

Walker scored nine of his 18 points in the final three minutes, sparking a 12-0 Charlotte run…

Walker shot 8 of 14 from the field and had seven assists.

Henderson, who came in averaging 22.5 points over his previous five games, was 8 of 16 from the field and 10 of 11 on free throws. He also tied a career high with eight assists and his 3-pointer with 55 seconds left ultimately sealed the victory.

Ben Gordon had 19 points and Josh McRoberts added 17 for Charlotte.

John Wall scored 25 points and Nene added 21 for the Wizards, who lost three of four games this season to the NBA-worst Bobcats. Emeka Okafor and Garrett Temple each had 17 points.

— Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press

John Wall, LaMarcus Aldridge named NBA Players of Week through March 17, 2013

Washington Wizards guard John Wall and Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge today were named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 11 through Sunday, March 17.

Wall led the Wizards to a 3-1 week with averages of 24.0 points (fourth in the conference), 11.0 assists (second in the conference), 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals (third in the conference). Wall posted three point-assist double-doubles and ranked sixth in the East with a field goal percentage of .617. He collected a season-high 14 assists on March 12 against the Cleveland Cavaliers (95-90 loss) and a season-high 29 points on March 15 against the New Orleans Hornets (96-87 win).

Aldridge led the Trail Blazers to a 2-1 week behind an NBA-best 27.0 points, 10.7 rebounds (seventh in the conference), 3.0 blocks (third in the conference) and 3.0 assists. Aldridge shot 19-of-19 from the foul line on a week in which he posted a point-rebound double-double in each contest, including a 22-point, 10-rebound, five-block effort on March 14 during a 105-90 win over the New York Knicks.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Al Horford, Denver’s Kosta Koufos, Miami’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan.

Wizards are better than their record suggests

The Wizards are playing better than their overall record suggests. They have won eight of their last 11 home games, including triumphs vs. the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks in the last month. But since starting 4-28, they get losses vs. teams such as the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings overshadow those accomplishments.

“I don’t know what that’s about,” forward Trevor Ariza said of the Wizards’ improved focus vs. winning teams. “We need to fix that. We got 19 games left. We have to play that way, not worried about the records or anything and just play.”

The fact is, however, that good teams aren’t good by accident. They have better individual talent which gives them a bigger margin for error, but they also know how to close out.

— Reported by J. Michael of CSN Washington

Bradley Beal inches closer to return for Wizards

Bradley Beal waited for his teammates in the locker room after the Washington Wizards’ 87-82 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, listening to them discuss the turnover problems that led to their demise and offering humor to keep the spirits from staying down.

Beal missed his eighth game of the season and first with a sprained left ankle that he suffered on Sunday against Philadelphia. When asked how he was feeling after the Timberwolves game, Beal said, “Better.”

The Wizards (19-40) are now 2-6 without Beal this season but his absence has been felt lately on the road, where they have lost four consecutive games without the promising rookie shooting guard on the court.

Beal remains day-to-day, but Coach Randy Wittman said that he is making progress.

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

Bradley Beal keeps improving for Wizards

Beal recently surpassed John Wall as the Wizards’ leading scorer at 14.2 points per game and has been on a serious tear in his past eight games.

Over that stretch, Beal has scored at least 20 points five times, is averaging 20.8 points on 49.2 percent shooting from the field and 44.7 percent shooting from long distance. Beal has also recorded two double-doubles and displayed versatility and a solid feel for making timely plays – such as his huge offensive rebound in the closing seconds of a win against Houston. He snared 11 rebounds against the Knicks, at times grabbing them over all-star center Tyson Chandler or Amare Stoudemire.

In the first half against New York, Beal made a hard cut through the lane but stopped under the basket when he noticed that Knicks guard J.R. Smith was trying to beat him to the corner and Wall was about to get trapped by Chandler and Raymond Felton. Wall found him inside for an easy, uncontested dunk.

Beal erupted for 12 points in the third quarter, starting his run when he tracked down a loose ball beyond half court with 10 seconds on the shot clock and never appeared rushed as he split Iman Shumpert and Jason Kidd near the foul line, then completed a nifty lefty layup over Carmelo Anthony.

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

Wizards aiming to be clutch by committee

The Wizards don’t have a proven superstar or an established go-to guy who they can get the ball to in the final seconds, get out of the way and let him operate.

The clutch-by-committee philosophy certainly served as a disadvantage early on, as they racked up close defeats. And that certainly isn’t the preferred situation for contending teams that can simply draw something up for LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony or even Joe Johnson and live with the results.

But Coach Randy Wittman doesn’t go into late-game possessions determined to set up one individual, relying mostly on his gut while seeking to exploit mismatches on the floor. The hero emerges within the flow of the game, rather than from reputation.

Wittman has managed to make it work in recent weeks, with the team winning 13 of 22 and calling on everyone from Bradley Beal, to Nene, to John Wall, to even the recently-dealt Jordan Crawford, to make a play with the game on the line.

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

Jordan Crawford solid in Celtics debut

In his debut with the Boston Celtics, former Wizards guard Jordan Crawford joined an exclusive club, becoming the 46th player in NBA history to take the floor wearing number 27.

Regardless of his jersey number, the player that took the floor on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns was remarkably similar to the one Wizards’ fans watched in Washington.

In 17 minutes Crawford scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 2-for-5 from long distance in the Celtics’ 113-88 win. Crawford also had three rebounds and two assists, while only turning the ball over once.

— Reported by Michael Huberman of CSN Washington

Celtics trade Leandro Barbosa, Jason Collins to Wizards for Jordan Crawford

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the Wizards have acquired guard Leandro Barbosa and center Jason Collins from the Boston Celtics in exchange for guard Jordan Crawford.

“Our team has started to come together and play well over the last 20 games,” said Grunfeld. “This trade allows us to keep moving in that direction with the solid rotation and defensive commitment we have established on the court, helps us continue to build on the culture we are establishing in the locker room and gives us additional financial flexibility.”

“Jordan’s a scorer and he will provide versatility that will add great depth to our roster,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations.

Crawford, a 6’4” guard, has appeared in 43 games for the Wizards this season and is averaging 13.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 26.2 minutes per game. Crawford has recorded 12 games this season with 20 or more points including a season-high 27 points twice (December 28 against Orlando and December 18 against Atlanta). In the game against Atlanta on December 18, he also recorded a triple-double adding 11 assists and 11 rebounds to his season-high-tying 27 points. The third year pro out of Xavier University in Ohio has career averages of 13.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 149 games split between Atlanta and Washington.

Collins, the 18th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, has appeared in 707 career games with five teams (New Jersey, Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston) while averaging 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per contest. This season with Boston, Collins has averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 32 games.

Crawford was originally traded to Washington along with Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans and a 2011 First Round pick (Chris Singleton) for Hilton Armstrong and Kirk Hinrich on February 23, 2011. In parts of three seasons with the Wizards, Crawford averaged 14.5 points while appearing in 133 games. He averaged 13.2 points and 3.7 assists while appearing in 43 games for the Wizards this season.

Wizards continue to struggle on the road

The Wizards (14-35) are averaging a measly 86.2 points on the road, reaching triple digits just four times. They are also shooting just 40.6 percent and connecting on 33.7 percent from long distance. Opponents are outscoring them by an average of 9.1 points away from Verizon Center. Washington has suffered seven of its 10 double-digit losses on the road, including a 100-68 loss to the Pistons.

Even the return of John Wall hasn’t been a remedy for the Wizards’ road woes, with the team going 2-6 away from home.

“You’ve got to play better on the road. That’s the bottom line in this league,” [Coach] Wittman said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to play better on the road and do it consistently. And it starts defensively, getting it going. That’s our next step. Take it on the road. I feel good about going into these next two games because of what we’ve done [at home]. We went through a tough stretch of games here. A lot of good games.”

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

Wizards end Knicks 5-game winning streak

Though the Washington Wizards have just 13 victories, five are against leaders of the six NBA divisions.

John Wall had 21 points and nine assists, Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 20 points, and the Wizards snapped the New York Knicks’ five-game winning streak with a 106-96 victory Wednesday night.

Washington held the Knicks, who had won the last 10 meetings, to just nine 3-pointers. In the previous two games, New York had 33.

The Wizards have also beaten Miami, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Chicago, which was leading the Central on Jan. 26. San Antonio is the only division leader to beat Washington.

”I’d like to play our best against everyone,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

Washington had six players score in double figures for the fourth time this season. Martell Webster added 19 points, Nene had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Emeka Okafor scored 12 and Chris Singleton 10.

— Reported by the Associated Press