Hughes's Triple-Double Ices Raptors in Overtime

Victory Is Wizards' Fourth in Five Games: Wizards 114, Raptors 109

Wizards' Brendan Haywood grabs one of his 10 rebounds over the Raptors' Milt Palacio in Washington's overtime win in Toronto. (Aaron Harris -- AP)

TORONTO, Nov. 28 -- Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes faked a behind-the-back pass on a fast break, hit a layup and ran down the court early in the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors with a winded look. Wizards assistant coach Mike O'Koren was ready to substitute for him before Hughes waved him off, screaming to the bench, "Don't take me out!"

In just his second game filling in for Coach Eddie Jordan -- who was still in a Washington area hospital recovering from a blood clot in his left leg -- O'Koren made the best coaching decision of his career: He kept Hughes in.

"I wanted to get him out of there," O'Koren said. "But I couldn't. Not the way he was going."

Hughes wouldn't stop until he recorded his first career triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Wizards to a 114-109 overtime win against the Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The victory was the Wizards' fourth in five games and, at 7-5, they have their first winning November since 1984.

Hughes, a seventh-year guard, was especially effective in the fourth period, when he shot 6 of 7 from the field and scored 21 points -- none bigger than two free throws he hit with 0.8 of a second left in regulation to force overtime.

"Larry carried us when we were dead there in the fourth quarter," O'Koren said. "He played 52 minutes and that's not good, but we had to do it today."

Hughes rarely showed emotion until the overtime period, when he dribbled under the basket and dumped off the ball to center Brendan Haywood, who sank a baby-hook in the lane to give Hughes his elusive 10th assist. Hughes then leaped into the air, flashed a smile to reveal his braces and pumped his fists.

"He said me and Jared [Jeffries] cost him the triple-double last time," Haywood said about Hughes, who had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in the Wizards' overtime loss against Philadelphia two days before. "He was real excited that he was able to get the ball into me and I was able to finish for him."

Haywood followed his bucket by blocking a shot by Vince Carter (26 points) on the next possession. Haywood had a double-double for the second game in row, notching 22 points with 10 rebounds, and forward Antawn Jamison had his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard Gilbert Arenas matched his season high with 27 points and as the most previous Wizard to record a triple-double, Arenas couldn't keep from ribbing Hughes afterward.

"For real though, I'm kind of mad he got the triple-double, just for the record," Arenas said, chuckling, before adding, "We rode off 'L's' back. 'L' decided to just take over and we just wanted to feed off of him."

After Raptors guard Jalen Rose (29 points) hit a three-pointer with 2 minutes 55 seconds remaining, the Wizards were down 97-88. But Hughes got the Wizards started on a 12-2 run when he dropped in a three-pointer. Arenas followed with a left-handed layup off the glass, and after a three-pointer by Jarvis Hayes, Arenas added a tough, fallaway jumper to bring the Wizards within one point.

"It bothers me, it bothers Eddie and it bothers [assistant coaches Phil Hubbard] and Tom Young," O'Koren said of the Wizards' fourth-quarter deficits. "But it doesn't bother our players. They just feel they can come back from anything. I thought we were out of it. It looked like we were spent."

Hughes nearly won the game in regulation. Raptors point guard Rafer Alston lost his dribble and Hughes lunged toward the ball and began to dribble up the floor for a layup -- until he was called for a personal foul with 18 seconds left. Hughes shook his head afterward. He thought it was a clean steal, "but that's the way they called it. You live with it."

Alston only made one of the two free throws and the Wizards swung the ball to Hughes, who drove inside and got fouled. After missing three free throws in the period, he said he wasn't worried as he approached the line. "I wasn't going to miss them," Hughes said. "With 0.8 on the clock, can't miss those."