Dixon Gets Wizards Even

Guard Scores a Career-High 35, First-Round Series Is Tied 2-2

The sellout crowd at MCI Center was ready to erupt and guard Juan Dixon, as he had done all night, delivered with a fadeaway 18-footer to give his team a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter of the Washington Wizards' 106-99 win over the Chicago Bulls at MCI Center last night.

While fans went into a frenzy, Coach Eddie Jordan pensively paced the sideline, still unsatisfied. But when his team forced the Bulls into a shot-clock violation 30 seconds later, he couldn't contain his emotions. He flipped out, wildly pumping his fists, kicking his foot and giving an approving nod to his players as they walked toward the bench.

The Wizards evened their best-of-seven first-round playoff series at 2-2 with the unexpected scoring of former Maryland star Dixon, who had a career-high 35 points, and the team's newfound commitment to defense, as the Wizards held the Bulls to 33.7 percent shooting. "Everybody was saying that this is not a good defensive team and guys really took that to heart," forward Antawn Jamison said. "We wanted to show that we can be a great defensive team. This is the playoffs. In order to put yourselves in position to win a series you have to play defense."

The Wizards had their way against the Bulls for the second game in a row, building a 28-point second-half lead. They led 89-63 when Dixon hit his pull-up jumper with 9 minutes 53 seconds left in the fourth period, but the Bulls desperately chipped away with a flurry of fouls and off-balance three-pointers, cutting the deficit to six with 15 seconds remaining. But the game wasn't in any serious danger from the opening tip, as the Wizards scored the first six points and never looked back. "That would be a whupping where I come from," Bulls Coach Scott Skiles said. "And there would be a word in front of that, too."

The series is now a best-of-three, with the teams making acquaintances again at United Center tomorrow in Game 5. The two young teams have gotten their feet wet in the playoffs for the first time, figuring out how to win at home, but the Wizards will have to win in Chicago if they want to win the franchise's first series since 1982. "That's the thing about not having home-court advantage, you got to win one on the road," point guard Gilbert Arenas said after scoring 23 points with six rebounds and five assists.

The Wizards have relied on the scoring trio of Arenas, Larry Hughes and Jamison, but last night the Big Three stepped aside to make room for Dixon, the smallest man on the court.

After the first two games at United Center, the Bulls looked poised for a stampede in this series, but that time in Chicago is almost a distant memory now and the Wizards feel confident that they can keep the momentum. "We think the first two games there was our first experience" in the playoffs, Jordan said, "and we feel there is a comfort zone now. Going back, we can visualize the arena, we can visualize how their fans react and we can visualize everything that we experienced in the first two games. That's really important."

Reserve guard Jannero Pargo and Kirk Hinrich each had 18 points to lead the Bulls, who were banged up, with guard Chris Duhon injuring his back in the pregame shoot-around and playing just nine minutes. At least Duhon was in the building.

Forward Kwame Brown, who played a season-low four minutes in the Wizards' win in Game 3, missed last night's game after calling to inform the team that he had a stomach virus. Arenas said he drove by Brown's house yesterday after he missed the morning shoot-around. "I had to check on him and make sure he wasn't in any serious danger," Arenas said. "He was laying in bed. He said he had some bad food . . . and he was throwing up. He'll be here tomorrow, working out with us. And I hope he's feeling better. He's pound-for-pound, our best big inside."

The Wizards didn't miss a beat without him -- "We didn't really think about that," Arenas said -- as Jamison had 18 points. Hughes had just 10, which made Dixon's performance more important. After shooting 8 of 34 in the first three games of the series, he shot 11 of 15 and made all 10 of his free throws. "I struggled in the last three games but I didn't lose my confidence," said Dixon, who spoke with Jordan after going 1 for 10 in Game 3. "I said, 'Coach, don't lose confidence in me. I'm going to try to step up and get my act together.' That's pretty much what I said, but I said it about 10 times."

The Wizards built a substantial first-half lead without the benefit of a basket from Arenas, who didn't hit his first field goal until 5:26 left in the second quarter. Arenas's 18-foot jumper gave the Wizards a 48-27 lead, but Jordan was far from settled.

When Hinrich nailed an open three-pointer from the left corner to cut the deficit to 18, Jordan was livid. He jumped from his seat, stamped on the court and yelled for a timeout. Jordan then screamed at his team for blowing the defensive assignment. He sent the message early on: Don't let up.

By the end of the half, the Wizards led 61-37 and had held the Bulls to just 23.8 percent shooting. "It starts with defense," Wizards center Brendan Haywood said. "We're really confident. We feel like we can do the same thing on their court. It's just about ball movement and defensive rotations. When we do that, we're a tough team to beat and we proved that tonight."