And A Lil’ March Madness Ensues
You got to give it up to the Wizards for fiercely battling Eastern conference rivals, the Orlando Magic last Friday at the Verizon Center.
Sure, Orlando had Superman, a.k.a. Dwight Howard (18 points), and super shooter Rafel Alston (also eighteen points), but you can’t knock the Wizards’ hustle.
The Wizards had four of its players in double figures (to Magic’s six), notwithstanding the team’s high scorer on the evening, Antawn Jamison, with thirty-six points.
Going into the third quarter the Wizards were chasing a 52-64 Magic lead, but continually fought back to gain points and momentum, even after the team’s leader, Caron Butler, had to leave the game when a recurring hamstring pull began flaring up near the end of the second half.
Rookies Nick Young, and JaVale McGee stepped up big and produced points and good defensive plays that kept the team in the running.
Young had 20 points on the evening, while McGee showed skill and hustle, breaking up Orlando's passes and scoring opportunities, and dunking over the Magic's defense.
“If we didn’t have good efforts from JaVale and Nick, we would not have been in this game”, Wizards coach Ed Tapscott boasted.
Andray Blatche turned his ankle in the third quarter, but did return to action.
Dwight Howard received a goal-tending call for his attempt at blocking Young’s shot, giving the Wizards an 87-85 lead in the fourth quarter. Howard, contesting the call, received a technical foul, sending Young to the line for two free throws with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter.
The Wizards were ahead by one point, 88-87.
Not giving up, Orlando pressed forward and countered each Wizards’ shot with their own scoring to include a three point shot by Mickael Pietrus to regain the lead, 91-88.
Nick Young shot another two-pointer, giving the fans a 90-91 tease with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, that even had Virginia governor, Tim Kaine on his feet in support of the home team.
Just when the team looked like they had the game so close, foul trouble would befall the Wizards, sending the Magic to the charity stripe three times in the final minutes of the game.
Magic’s Reshard Lewis and Tony Battie were both sent to the foul line with less than two minutes in the 4th quarter, off Wizards’ fouls.
When it was all said and done, even after a last minute run to make a comeback, the Wizards were overcome by the Magic, 112-103.
Despite being undermanned, Coach Tapscott was proud of his team’s efforts.
“I thought it was a real hard-fought game, and I think it was a real hard-fought effort."
Coach Tapscott On Nick Young’s Performance
The Wizards are at home on Sunday to face the Sacramento Kings. Washington has won seven straight over Sacramento (three at Verizon Center), their longest current win streak over any team.
Side notes:
• While Superman may have been welcomed at the Verizon Center, it was Orlando Magic guard JJ Redick (ten points), a Duke University alumni and neighboring University Maryland Terrapin rival, who received boos from the home fans. Duke defeated Maryland 67-61 on Saturday in the ACC men’s finals. The competition between the two teams has been a fierce one for many years. (Wizards’ guard Juan Dixon also played at Maryland).
• In a rarely seen gesture, interim coach Ed Tapscott actually smiled in a post-game interview. Granted, he wasn't talking about the Wizards, but rather his alma mater American University. Tapscott donned the smiles while talking about AU’s 73-57 defeat on Friday over Holy Cross in the Patriot League.
You got to give it up to the Wizards for fiercely battling Eastern conference rivals, the Orlando Magic last Friday at the Verizon Center.
Sure, Orlando had Superman, a.k.a. Dwight Howard (18 points), and super shooter Rafel Alston (also eighteen points), but you can’t knock the Wizards’ hustle.
The Wizards had four of its players in double figures (to Magic’s six), notwithstanding the team’s high scorer on the evening, Antawn Jamison, with thirty-six points.
Going into the third quarter the Wizards were chasing a 52-64 Magic lead, but continually fought back to gain points and momentum, even after the team’s leader, Caron Butler, had to leave the game when a recurring hamstring pull began flaring up near the end of the second half.
Rookies Nick Young, and JaVale McGee stepped up big and produced points and good defensive plays that kept the team in the running.
Young had 20 points on the evening, while McGee showed skill and hustle, breaking up Orlando's passes and scoring opportunities, and dunking over the Magic's defense.
“If we didn’t have good efforts from JaVale and Nick, we would not have been in this game”, Wizards coach Ed Tapscott boasted.
Andray Blatche turned his ankle in the third quarter, but did return to action.
Dwight Howard received a goal-tending call for his attempt at blocking Young’s shot, giving the Wizards an 87-85 lead in the fourth quarter. Howard, contesting the call, received a technical foul, sending Young to the line for two free throws with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter.
The Wizards were ahead by one point, 88-87.
Not giving up, Orlando pressed forward and countered each Wizards’ shot with their own scoring to include a three point shot by Mickael Pietrus to regain the lead, 91-88.
Nick Young shot another two-pointer, giving the fans a 90-91 tease with 6:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, that even had Virginia governor, Tim Kaine on his feet in support of the home team.
Just when the team looked like they had the game so close, foul trouble would befall the Wizards, sending the Magic to the charity stripe three times in the final minutes of the game.
Magic’s Reshard Lewis and Tony Battie were both sent to the foul line with less than two minutes in the 4th quarter, off Wizards’ fouls.
When it was all said and done, even after a last minute run to make a comeback, the Wizards were overcome by the Magic, 112-103.
Despite being undermanned, Coach Tapscott was proud of his team’s efforts.
“I thought it was a real hard-fought game, and I think it was a real hard-fought effort."
Coach Tapscott On Nick Young’s Performance
“I thought he was aggressive…did a good job getting good shots, and I played him a lot of minutes tonight, and I thought he responded very well.”DC UrbanSports' game photo gallery.
The Wizards are at home on Sunday to face the Sacramento Kings. Washington has won seven straight over Sacramento (three at Verizon Center), their longest current win streak over any team.
Side notes:
• While Superman may have been welcomed at the Verizon Center, it was Orlando Magic guard JJ Redick (ten points), a Duke University alumni and neighboring University Maryland Terrapin rival, who received boos from the home fans. Duke defeated Maryland 67-61 on Saturday in the ACC men’s finals. The competition between the two teams has been a fierce one for many years. (Wizards’ guard Juan Dixon also played at Maryland).
• In a rarely seen gesture, interim coach Ed Tapscott actually smiled in a post-game interview. Granted, he wasn't talking about the Wizards, but rather his alma mater American University. Tapscott donned the smiles while talking about AU’s 73-57 defeat on Friday over Holy Cross in the Patriot League.
“I’m delighted, and tomorrow I will have my American T-shirt on.”AU is Tapscott’s alma mater, where he received a Law degree, and later served as the men’s basketball coach.
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