Washington Wizards Blog – Page 46 – NBA Blog

Pacers beat Wizards for 6th straight home win

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

Mavericks end 6-game losing streak, beat Wizards

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

Wizards sign Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple

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.

Wizards waive Shaun Livingston and Earl Barron

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 falls out of Wizards rotation

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)

Wizards uncertain when John Wall will play

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)

Wizards stun Heat 105-101 for 2nd win of season

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

No Trevor Booker any time soon for Wizards

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

Wizards beat Blazers for first win of season

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

Nene rests Sunday but expected to play against San Antonio

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