Finding Ways to Thrive
Down to Nine Healthy Players, Wizards Win Fourth in a Row: Wizards 92, Kings 79
Forward Antawn Jamison, one of just nine healthy players on the Wizards' roster, drives to the bucket and slams home two of his 16 points Saturday.
(Preston Keres - The Post)
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Sunday, December 16, 2007
Lose a key player, win a basketball game.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]It's a routine the Washington Wizards are familiar with and last night, they were at it again. They beat the Sacramento Kings, 92-79, in front of a sellout crowd at Verizon Center one day after learning that veteran guard Antonio Daniels is expected to miss two to four weeks with a right knee injury.
The Wizards (13-10) have won four straight games and are quickly becoming one of the more compelling stories in the NBA. Already without three-time all-star Gilbert Arenas, veteran center Etan Thomas and rookie forward Oleksiy Pecherov, the Wizards had nine players in uniform last night but won anyway, because everyone who did take the floor contributed.
For the sixth straight game, five Wizards scored in double figures, including guard DeShawn Stevenson -- who continued his strong play of late by scoring 19 points with seven assists. Rookie Nick Young started in place of Daniels but didn't have to do much on a night when Stevenson made 5 of 8 three-point shots.
In winning their fifth straight game over the Kings (9-14), the Wizards didn't even require big scoring nights from Caron Butler (12 points and eight assists) and Antawn Jamison (16 points and nine rebounds).
The Wizards led by 11 in the second quarter and carried a 52-51 edge into halftime before taking control in the third quarter with a 19-7 run. Roger Mason Jr. came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and the Wizards converted 19 Sacramento turnovers into 18 points.
Stevenson made three of his six three-pointers during the crucial third-quarter run.
"I'm really proud of this team," Coach Eddie Jordan said. "They keep their confidence up, they practice even though they know we have guys down, they keep their concentration level up and they're taking a serious approach to work. We just have a terrific will to win."
Before the game, Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld said the team will likely sign a guard "in the next two or three days," which could give the Wizards another body before Wednesday night's game against Chicago at Verizon Center.
"We have some names on a short list and in all likelihood we'll bring someone in who we feel can help us," Grunfeld said. "We're not going to get someone from another team in a trade scenario. It's going to be a free agent type of player from the development league, CBA, someone who isn't currently on an NBA roster."
Among the guards the Wizards may consider is former Virginia Tech standout Brian Chase, who was on Washington's summer league team and went to camp with Miami before being released in October; Mike Wilks, who was released by Denver on Nov. 28; and former Wizard Billy Thomas, who is playing in the NBA Development League.
Another option would be to bring back Donell Taylor, who appeared in 98 games in two seasons with the Wizards. Taylor is under contract to a team in Greece but, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, he can get out of the contract.
