Wizards Plummet to New Low

Fans Boo 'Embarrassing,' Season-Worst, 30-Point Loss : Nuggets 117, Wizards 87

The Washington Wizards put the unofficial stamp on where the rest of their season appears to be headed last night by spending much of the second half shooting poorly and allowing the Denver Nuggets to score 71 points in a season-worst, 117-87 defeat at MCI Center.

After enduring the loudest round of boos hurled by fans all season, Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan questioned the professionalism of some of his players and guard Gilbert Arenas nearly cried when addressing the media.

But guard Juan Dixon (19 points) levied the most telling assessment of what transpired.

"It's embarrassing," Dixon said. "I mean, just walking through the tunnel to the locker room, fans telling us to take the money and run. That's sad when it comes from your fans. When I heard that, I was a little hurt but we're not playing good basketball right now."

Jordan's view didn't vary much from some of the fans Dixon heard.

"Gilbert [Arenas] stood out," Jordan said. "Frankly he played like an NBA player and not many other people did for us. Some of it was because of injury. Jarvis [Hayes] is out there playing on a sore hamstring. Kwame [Brown] tweaked his ankle early in the game. These signs have been with us throughout the year and now when it's time to gut it out, really gut it out, only a few guys tried to gut it out. Some guys tried but they couldn't."

Arenas, who over the past few days said the final quarter of the season would show which players would demonstrate their commitment to the game, teared up when asked about how the team responded to two tough losses with a 30-point defeat.

"Season worst?" Arenas (team-high 23 points, seven assists) asked, before pausing. "Man, it's pride now, these last 20 games. It's the NBA. You've got to have pride if you want to be in this game. You've got to want to be in here. You can't take it off."

The ugly loss to the reeling Nuggets marked the 28th time the Wizards (20-42) have lost by double digits -- 11 have been by 21 points or more -- and it gave them their eighth losing streak of at least three consecutive games. The defeat solidified Washington's fifth consecutive losing season and turned any thoughts of making a run at the playoffs into hopes of not finishing with the NBA's worst record.

The Wizards moved within a loss of matching the Atlanta Hawks for the third-worst record in the league. Only Orlando and Chicago had fewer victories than both teams but the Magic will get a chance to improve its stock tonight against a Washington team it has defeated in all three meetings this season. The Wizards face the Hawks Friday in Atlanta.

Making matters worse for the Wizards, small forwards Hayes and Jared Jeffries suffered leg injuries that kept them off the court almost the entire second half and could keep them out of action for a while.

Hayes re-aggravated a left hamstring strain suffered in Sunday's loss to New York. Jeffries started the second half in place of Hayes and, after just a minute, went to the bench for the rest of the game with soreness just below his right knee. He aggravated the knee after making an awkward move and having someone step on his foot, and x-rays taken after the game were negative. Jeffries tore the anterior cruciate ligament in that knee last season and missed the final 54 games.

Both players are listed as questionable for tonight's game at Orlando although Hayes did not sound like he would be able to play. Mitchell Butler (two points) who played 21 minutes, likely would start if neither player can go. The untimely injuries come at a position that was supposed to be filled by Jerry Stackhouse, but he had preseason right knee surgery, missed the first 45 games, and is out of action again after trying to play 12 games at less than full strength.

Denver's rookie of the year candidate and Baltimore product Carmelo Anthony did not disappoint in his first and only game in the region, scoring 26 points. His driving tomahawk dunk in the second quarter helped ignite a surge that carried into the third quarter, when the game swung into Denver's favor. Voshon Lenard's game-high 27 points led the Nuggets, which won for the second time in 10 games.