Wizards Ease Past Hornets, But Tougher Stretch Looms

Wizards 88, Hornets 69

Washington's Brendan Haywwod slams down two of his 17 points against the Hornets. (Nick Wass - AP)

The Washington Wizards' 88-69 victory over the New Orleans Hornets yesterday wasn't pretty -- and it couldn't be, what with the teams treating the ball as if it were greased and combining for 54 turnovers. But the Wizards aren't seeking style points now -- only victories -- as they came away from their four-game homestand with one loss to the Denver Nuggets and wins over the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and the Hornets, three teams with a combined winning percentage of .263 (15-42).

"I would like to say we beat San Antonio, the Lakers and the Timberwolves, but we play the schedule," Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said. "A 3-1 homestand is pretty good and we'll go from there."

The Wizards' upcoming schedule is nowhere near as easy. They will play consecutive games against the Miami Heat beginning tonight, then embark on a West Coast trip against the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, Golden State and Sacramento in which they will play four games in five nights. "It was an important stretch for us," forward Antawn Jamison said of the homestand. "Other than the Denver game, we accomplished what we wanted to."

Jamison and center Brendan Haywood led the Wizards in scoring with 17 points apiece. Point guard Gilbert Arenas had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals, and guard Larry Hughes had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals for the Wizards, who have won nine of their past 11 games.

Forward-center Kwame Brown had six points with four rebounds in 20 minutes after missing Friday's game while serving a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. Before the second half, Brown walked toward the bench and tapped fists with Jordan. "Everything is good. It's no big deal," Brown said. "We're both men. We talked and it's over."

The Wizards likely will need the 7-foot, 270-pound Brown to provide resistance in Miami tonight against Heat center Shaquille O'Neal, a daunting task for a player who is still trying to get back into game shape because of a surgically repaired right foot. "I got to rest my legs," Brown said, "but you can't really prepare for Shaq."

The Heat has won both games against the Wizards this season by double-digit margins. Jordan said the next two games provide an opportunity for his team to "make hay" against its Southeast Division rival. "They caught us kind of early," Haywood said of the games that were played Nov. 6 and 9. "I think we're better suited to take them on now."

The Wizards dispatched the woeful Hornets (1-18) in the third quarter, with Hughes and Haywood providing all of the scoring during a game-breaking 18-0 run.

After Hornets guard David Wesley hit a jumper to cut the Wizards' lead to 42-39 with 11 minutes 46 seconds left in the quarter, the Wizards picked up their defensive intensity and forced seven turnovers, holding the Hornets scoreless for five minutes. Hughes went 0 for 6 in the first half, but he hit his first three shots and scored the Wizards' first nine points of the third period. "We had to get Larry on track," Jordan said. "Sure enough, just like the script would read, he comes out and hits his first three jumpers."

Haywood would score the next nine points for the Wizards and helped put away the Hornets following some nifty ballhandling by Arenas and Hughes. Arenas knocked the ball from Wesley and raced down the court, dribbling behind his back to get around Hornets guard Dan Dickau (14 points). Then Arenas picked up the ball and tossed it to Hughes underneath the basket. Hughes faked a behind-the-back pass -- which froze Hornets center P.J. Brown and forward Matt Freije -- and hit a trailing Haywood for a layup to give the Wizards a 60-39 lead with 6:26 left in the period.

The Hornets, who lost their 10th straight game, shot 31.8 percent and tied a franchise record with 33 turnovers (a record the then-Charlotte Hornets set against the then-Washington Bullets in 1993). They had 19 turnovers in the first half, but the Wizards couldn't do much with them as they had 15 of their own -- one more than their season average.

Reserve forward Jarvis Hayes tried to save a bad pass before it went out of bounds in the second quarter and threw a two-handed chest pass to Jordan, who was standing by the Wizards' bench. Asked about the mishap, Hayes began laughing and accidentally dropped his cell phone. "I'm fumbling everything," said Hayes, who had three of the Wizards' season-high 21 turnovers.