By Ivan Carter
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 26, 2006

The arrival of the New York Knicks last night at MCI Center conjured up bad memories of the one of the worst nights of the Wizards' season: a 113-92 loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 6. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Wizards and dropped them to a season-worst six games below .500 (12-18).

The mood inside the cramped locker room after that loss was also at a season low and veterans Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas struggled to find the words to describe the team's state.

"That was one of the lowest points right there," Jamison said. "They beat us up pretty bad and we really had to go back and think hard about where we were and what we wanted to be as a team."

Since that night, which was also the last time Chucky Atkins played in a Washington uniform, the Wizards have gone 17-7 after last night's win and have looked like a completely different team.

Coach Eddie Jordan's rotation has tightened, the defense has improved and the Wizards are playing with a swagger that was nowhere to be seen during that stretch of the season.

"It was a bad loss," Jordan said. "It was early in the season but we didn't panic."

Things haven't gone nearly as well for the Knicks. That Jan. 6 victory was part of a season-long six-game winning streak. Since that run ended with a loss at Toronto on Jan. 15, New York has gone 2-18, including last night's loss.