The AP reports: Down to nine players, the Raptors still easily beat worst-in-the-East Washington 99-93 on Wednesday night by making 54 percent of their field-goal attempts. Andrea Bargnani had 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting… Bargnani went 4-for-5 on 3s, and 4-for-4 on other field-goal attempts. Chris Bosh scored half his 18 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds and six assists… Antawn Jamison scored a season-high 32 points for Washington, which hasn’t had Gilbert Arenas (left knee) or Brendan Haywood (right wrist) all season, and is without starting shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, who has missed a week and is expected to be out at least another 1 1/2 weeks with a bad back.
Category: Washington Wizards Blog
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LeBron James crab dribble
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, who is almost as athletic as InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner, recently claimed that a move he unleashed which appeared to possibly be a travel was a perfectly legal crab dribble.
The LeBron James crab dribble was against the Washington Wizards, whose players mocked the idea of a crab dribble in post-game interviews.
Below is a very funny crab dribble explanation video from a blog. Enjoy.
Magic survive Butler’s 29, beat Wizards 89-80
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic got the win, but Caron Butler got too many points for Stan Van Gundy. Butler scored 29 points, 21 in the third quarter, turning a potential blowout into a close game. The Magic held on for an 89-80 victory Tuesday night… Hedo Turkoglu led Orlando with 22 points as the recently energized Wizards (7-26) failed in their bid to win for the fourth time in six games… Orlando center Dwight Howard had his league-leading 25th double-double, with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Jameer Nelson added 14 points for the 27-8 Magic, who rebounded from their loss at Toronto on Sunday. Antawn Jamison scored 13 for the Wizards, who fell to 0-3 against Orlando this season.
Suns release Dee Brown
The Phoenix Suns have released guard Daniel “Dee” Brown, the club announced today.
The 6-0, 181-pound guard appeared in two games for Phoenix in a reserve role, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 assists in 14.0 minutes. Brown hit a three-pointer in his first action with Phoenix on Dec. 29 at Oklahoma City and also finished with one assist in 13 minutes. A night later in Memphis, the Illinois product scored two points, dished two assists and grabbed a rebound in 15 minutes. The two-year NBA performer was signed by the Suns on Dec. 24 after appearing in 17 games (11 starts) with the Washington Wizards to begin 2008-09.
The Suns roster now stands at 12.
A season-high seven games above .500, the Suns return to action tomorrow night, Wed., Jan. 7, hosting the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. at US Airways Center.
Read fan reaction and discuss your opinion in this forum thread.
No walk in the park: James, Cavs lose to Wiz 80-77
The AP reports: LeBron James was whistled for taking an extra step while driving for a potential tying layup with 2.3 seconds left, and his Cleveland Cavaliers lost 80-77 to the Eastern Conference-worst Washington Wizards despite wiping out a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. “Bad call,” said James, who compiled 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds… Indeed, Washington’s Caron Butler—who scored 19 points and guarded James most of the game, including on that closing play—remembers that same move, without an official’s call, from one of the teams’ recent playoff meetings… Antawn Jamison led Washington with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while McGuire had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his first NBA double-double.
Paul’s triple-double leads Hornets over Wizards
The AP reports: Chris Paul had 15 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds, tying a franchise record with his seventh career triple-double, and New Orleans beat the Washington Wizards 97-85 on Tuesday night… Rasual Butler scored 21 points and David West 20 for New Orleans, which led most of the way and never trailed by more than a basket in its third straight victory… Antawn Jamison scored 22 for Washington, while Mike James added 16 points and seven assists against the team that traded him to the Wizards this season. James struggled defensively against Paul, however, fouling out in the fourth quarter, when he also was called for a technical for arguing with officials… Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, while James Posey added 14 points.
Jamison scores 30 to lead Wizards past Rockets
The AP reports: Caron Butler was out, Antawn Jamison was hurting and the lowly Washington Wizards were still able to beat the Houston Rockets on Monday night. Jamison scored a season-high 30 points, Andray Blatche added 16 points and eight rebounds and the Wizards snapped a five-game road losing streak with an 89-87 victory… Nick Young added 14 points as the Wizards ended a seven-game losing streak to the Rockets and won in Houston for the first time since 2001… Ron Artest scored 20 points, but also had six turnovers for the Rockets, who had a seven-game home winning streak snapped by the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
Dec 27: Wizards 104, Thunder 95
The AP reports: The Washington Wizards didn’t care that they beat a team with only three wins. They were just happy they won at all. The Wizards beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-95 on Saturday night in a matchup of teams with the two worst records in the NBA. They broke an eight-game losing streak, their longest since 2001, with just their fifth win against 23 losses. Oklahoma City fell to 3-28… Antawn Jamison tied his season high with 29 points. Andray Blatche had 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds… Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green had 23 points.
Dec 25: Cavs 93, Wizards 89
The AP reports: Trailing by eight to woeful Washington, the Cavaliers scored 11 straight points in the final 1:33 to preserve their perfect home record with a 93-89 win Thursday night. Mo Williams scored 24 points, and LeBron James and Delonte West had 18 apiece for the Cavs, who at 15-0 are the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home. Cleveland trailed 89-82 before storming back with three free throws by James, a 3-pointer by Williams and five more foul shots in the last 26 seconds. Antawn Jamison scored 28 points, and Mike James 26 for the Wizards, who dropped their eighth straight and continue to find new ways to lose… Overmatched because of injuries to All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas (knee) and center Brendan Haywood (wrist), Washington is off to the worst start in franchise history and has already had a coaching change before the end of the calendar year.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I thought several lousy calls greatly benefitted the Cavaliers in the final few minutes of this game. But, the Cavs were the more aggressive team in the clutch, and that always helps draw calls. Still, I thought the Wizards got slightly robbed here.
Suns sign Dee Brown
The Phoenix Suns have signed free-agent guard Daniel “Dee” Brown to a contract, the club announced today.
A two-year NBA performer, Brown was originally selected by the Utah Jazz with the 46th overall pick (second round) in the 2006 NBA Draft. The 6-0, 181-pound guard spent his rookie season in Salt Lake City where he appeared in 49 regular season games off the bench and eight more in the playoffs. The 24-year-old played in Turkey for Galatasaray Café Crown in 2007-08 where he averaged 12.3 points during the regular season and 14.7 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds during postseason play. Brown signs with the Suns after appearing in 17 games (11 starts) and seeing 13.7 minutes of action with the Washington Wizards to begin 2008-09. He now owns career averages of 2.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.8 assists in 68 NBA contests.
Brown’s stellar career at the University of Illinois was highlighted by his 2006 win of the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard in his senior season. The Illini standout led the Big Ten in assists (5.8) and ranked 18th in the nation overall. Brown posted those numbers while leading his team in scoring average (14.2), steals (1.61), minutes (35.8) and free-throw percentage (.757) and leading the team in scoring in 15 of 33 games.
Nicknamed “The One Man Fastbreak” in college due to his quickness, Brown was selected the Sporting News’ National Player of the Year and named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. Most notably, he became the first consensus First Team All-American at Illinois since 1952 after helping to lead the Illini to a 29-0 start and a berth in the national title game.
Brown is a graduate of Proviso East High in Maywood, Ill., the same high school attended by Celtics coach Doc Rivers and San Antonio Spurs guard Michael Finley.