John Wall suspended for one game; Jordan Crawford ready to take over

Jordan Crawford winced with his left hand pressing against his lower back as he hobbled down the hallway from the Washington Wizards’ practice court toward the players’ lounge, where he was supposed to get a massage. The strain of carrying the Wizards against the Miami Heat the night before — when the team lost John Wall to an ejection — was apparently too much for a scrawny, perpetually slouching rookie.

“This is definitely hurting,” Crawford said, rubbing his lower back.

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Washington Wizards' rookie point guard John Wall discusses his second NBA ejection on Wednesday night in a loss to Miami.

The Wizards appeared doomed to a lopsided loss to the Heat when Wall was tossed in the second quarter for swinging and connecting a forearm shiver at Zydrunas Ilgauskas’s rib cage, but Crawford refused to quit as he scored a career-high 39 points, becoming the first Washington rookie to reach that total since Tom Gugliotta did the same nearly 19 years ago.

Crawford may have to have another stellar performance Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers after the NBA announced that Wall would be suspended one game without pay for “throwing a closed-fist and forearm” at Ilgauskas with 8 minutes 48 seconds left in the second quarter of the Wizards’ 123-107 loss.

After waiting most of the season for the chance to play, Crawford said he would take every possible precaution to make sure his back is ready for possibly more heavy lifting.

“It’s definitely going to be tough with John,” Crawford said. “But . . . you can just see more hunger in us right now. Each game, it really doesn’t matter who’s out, we’re going to give it our all.”

Crawford has been giving his all since arriving from the Atlanta Hawks in a five-player deal involving Kirk Hinrich at the trade deadline. Even though he played just 160 minutes in 16 games while backing up Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford in Atlanta, Crawford never doubted that he could have a night like the one he had Wednesday.

“I always felt I was capable,” Crawford said after scoring in double figures for the 12th consecutive game. “I have a lot of confidence in myself. It’s a blessing that God gave me an opportunity to come to Washington and take advantage.”

With the Wizards spending most of March without leading scorer Nick Young, Rashard Lewis, Josh Howard and Andray Blatche, Crawford had seven games with at least 20 points and finished the month as the Wizards’ leading scorer, barely edging Wall (18.2-18.1).

The Wizards (18-56) liked Crawford when they evaluated players for the draft last summer, and acquiring him was essential to completing the deal for Hinrich. They knew he had the ability to score, especially after he scored 30 points against them in the preseason game, but his performance in recent weeks has been a revelation.

“He’s not always going to have an open light like this, but you’ve got to give him credit. I told Nick, he might have to look and find out who Wally Pipp is,” Coach Flip Saunders said of Crawford. “We’ve been impressed. I’ve been more impressed with his competitiveness. He really is very competitive. A fighter. Really digs down deep. That’s a character we’re looking for in guys going forward.”