Wizards Break Free of 76ers

In the Final Game Before All-Star Weekend, Bench Comes Up Big for Washington : Wizards 92, 76ers 85

Wizards forward Andray Blatche gets one of his four blocks in the team's 92-85 victory at Philadelphia. (Rusty Kennedy - AP)

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 14 -- The Washington Wizards didn't resolve all of their issues with a 92-85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, but at the very least, Coach Eddie Jordan and players Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler will be able to go into All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas feeling better about themselves.

Frustration and embarrassment were the only emotions flowing through the team following blowout losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers, and the Wizards entered Wednesday night having lost four of five games without injured forward Antawn Jamison.

Jamison, who is expected to return from a sprained left knee in early March, didn't make the trip, but the Wizards didn't need him against a 76ers team that is headed for the draft lottery and lacks anything resembling sizzle without former Georgetown star Allen Iverson, who was traded to Denver in December.

Arenas led the Wizards with 22 points, but his recent shooting slump continued. He made 8 of 26 shots overall and 1 of 9 three-point attempts, and Butler finished with 16 points on 7-of-20 shooting. But the Wizards won because of contributions from atypical sources: Andray Blatche, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career; Calvin Booth, who finished with a season-high eight points and eight rebounds; and Darius Songaila, who scored a season-high 12 points.

"I attribute this to our bench," Jordan said. "They did a great job of filling in, and that's what we've been missing since Antawn's been out. Those contributions were exactly what we needed."

Leading 65-62 entering the fourth quarter, Jordan kept starters Arenas, Butler, Blatche, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson on the bench, and a unit consisting of Booth, Songaila, Donnell Taylor, Jarvis Hayes and Antonio Daniels helped build a 73-64 lead.

That group was enthusiastically greeted by the starters after back-to-back jumpers by Booth gave the Wizards a nine-point lead and forced Philadelphia Coach Maurice Cheeks to call a timeout with 9 minutes 15 seconds remaining.

The 76ers (17-36) made things interesting with a late run and drew within 88-85 on a three-pointer by Kyle Korver with 1:35 remaining, but Butler put away the game with a pair of free throws that pushed the Washington lead back to five with 23 seconds to go.

Washington's bench held a 33-22 scoring advantage and a 21-7 edge in rebounding.

"I think [Detroit Pistons Coach] Flip Saunders said it earlier in the year: 'Do you get minutes and play well or do you play well when you get minutes?' " Booth said. "Players have to look at it like if you play well, you get minutes, and that happened tonight. Myself and Darius got some things done, and Coach stuck with us a little bit longer and it worked out for us."

Songaila's minutes have steadily increased since he returned Feb. 3 after missing the first 45 games because of a back injury, and he was a matchup problem for Philadelphia's smaller lineup early in the fourth quarter.

The 6-foot-9 Songaila, who was celebrating his 29th birthday, repeatedly posted up against the 6-6 Andre Iguodala or the 6-7 Korver and either drew fouls with post moves or attracted a second defender before moving the ball to an open teammate.

Songaila estimated he's around 60 percent of the player he was before he injured his back while playing for Lithuania in the world championships last summer.

"It's getting there step by step," Songaila said. "They're real little steps but it's coming."

Blatche made his second straight start, and Jordan used an 11-man rotation in his ongoing search for a way to get his team clicking without Jamison, whose absence has coincided with an Arenas shooting slump.

In the five games that Jamison has missed, Arenas has made 34 of 108 field goal attempts (32 percent) and 7 of 43 three-point attempts. Also, Arenas has totaled only four assists in the last three games.

Arenas attributes some of his shooting woes to right shoulder soreness that has lingered since he collided with Milwaukee's Ruben Patterson in late December but said his shooting touch will return soon.

"Besides the game, I'm shooting great," said Arenas, who put on a three-point shooting exhibition before the game, with many of the shots coming from near midcourt. "I'm just in one of those little ruts right now. I'll be fine."