It looked bleak as Eddie Jordan and his Washington Wizards left the court at halftime at United Center, down 52-34 to the Chicago Bulls.
And considering they played without injured starters Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler and shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson had gotten ejected for cursing at a referee when questioning a non-call, perhaps bleak puts the Wizards’ situation mildly.
The coach searched himself for answers as to what he could say to at least induce his players to muster a comeback, or at least make the score respectable.
He then delivered a speech using an analogy about sprinters and marathons. The speech did the trick as the Wizards came out with a 22-1 run that paved the way for a 97-91 victory and gave them their third win in four games — a marked improvement over their eight-game losing streak in February.
“Coach came in at halftime, he didn’t really talk X’s and O’s, he gave us a good story about how the season’s a marathon and the game’s a marathon and we all listened and knew the game wasn’t over,” said backup guard Roger Mason Jr., who scored all 17 of his points in the second half. “We had ups and downs, pretty much downs in the first half, pretty much downs, being down 18, but we fought as a team and this team’s been resilient all year.”
Jordan said he also talked about attitude and the need to unite as a team.
And that heart, which has lifted the Wizards to improbable wins this season and kept them in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, made the difference again.
“You can build a lot [from this],” team captain Antawn Jamison said. “As far as guys still being injured, just letting us know that no matter what circumstances, who we’re playing, we’ve got enough to get the job done. Most teams who’ve been together, who are healthy probably would have never come back and won this game. But we stayed positive, we stayed upbeat.”
The Wizards feel a sense of accomplishment because they rebounded from 94-69 loss in Houston on Tuesday to finish 2-1 on the road trip. In beating Chicago, they held off a fellow Eastern Conference team trying to make a second-half push after bringing in four players in a three-team, 11-player deal last week. And the victory protected the Wizards’ sixth-place ranking in the conference and kept them two games ahead of New Jersey.
Extending the momentum into today’s home game against New Orleans will prove crucial as Washington continues to press on during its short-handed marathon season.
The road doesn’t get any easier, however. After New Orleans (39-18) comes Wednesday’s date with Orlando, which holds the third spot in the East and leads Washington in the Southeast Division by eight games. The Wizards then travel to Toronto (4½ games ahead of Washington in the fourth spot in the East) on Friday and then a return home against Charlotte on Saturday.
But having beaten the Hornets in dramatic fashion earlier this week and further improved their psyche with Friday’s strong performance, the Wizards feel good going forward.
“Games mean so much, and it’s fun to be a part of it because you know you have to win just about every game you play in and every game’s important,” Jamison said. “It gives us a sense of urgency to know that we can ill afford to slack off. We can ill afford not to play hard and do the things we need to do to win.
“It’s fun basketball to come to a place like Chicago, where we haven’t won in a couple of years, and pull off a second-half comeback like that, and it’s great to go down to New Orleans, who’s been playing well and find a way to get a win. We’ve just got to continue to play well.”
Today’s game
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS AT WASHINGTON WIZARDS
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Verizon Center
TV/radio: CSN+, AM-980
Probable starters: Hornets — F Peja Stojakovic, F David West, C Tyson Chandler, G Chris Paul, G Mo Peterson. Wizards — F Antawn Jamison, F Darius Songaila, C Brendan Haywood, G Antonio Daniels, G DeShawn Stevenson.
Injuries: Hornets — G Bonzi Wells (bruised Achilles tendon). Wizards — F Caron Butler (hip), G Gilbert Arenas (knee), C Etan Thomas (heart surgery).
Outlook: The Wizards go for a second win over the Hornets in less than a week. The teams met in New Orleans last Monday and Washington won 95-92 behind 33 points and a game-winning 3-pointer from Stevenson. … Butler will miss his 15th game as he continues to rest his left hip which has a small labral tear. Doctors will re-evaluate Butler later this week. … Arenas had targeted today as a return from his second knee surgery, which he suffered in November, but he still isn’t 100 percent and continues his rehab. … The Wizards, who had an eight-game losing streak early in February, now aim for their fourth win in five games.
— Mike Jones
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