Wizards-Bobcats Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 28 2012 1:37AM

The Washington Wizards are the NBA's last remaining team without a road win this season.

Visiting the scuffling Charlotte Bobcats could help change that.

In a meeting of the two teams with the worst records in the league, the Wizards try again for their first road victory Saturday night against a Bobcats team hoping to avoid losing eight straight for the first time in almost five years.

Washington (3-16) is one-half game ahead of NBA-worst Charlotte (3-17), thanks to a 92-75 home win over the Bobcats on Wednesday in coach Randy Wittman's first game since replacing Flip Saunders. The Wizards failed to carry over any momentum into the weekend, falling 103-76 at Houston on Friday.

Washington, which led the Rockets by as many as eight points early on, shot just 36.4 percent and committed a season-worst 24 turnovers.

"I think we get tired and we lose our concentration and we throw the ball all over the gym," Wittman said. "For 30 minutes, we played hard, smart, for the most part, we got after it. The bad thing about that is that it's a 48-minute game."

Friday's result dropped the Wizards to 0-8 as the visiting team. While the road hasn't been kind to the Wizards, a trip to Charlotte could be just what they need.

The Bobcats saw their struggles continue Friday with an 89-72 defeat at Philadelphia, their 13th loss in 14 games. Frustrations seem to be mounting. With his team trailing by 21 in the second quarter, Bobcats coach Paul Silas received a second technical foul of the night and was ejected.

"I just kind of lost it out there," he said. "I said something I shouldn't have said and then kicked the ball. That won't happen anymore. I can't afford to let that happen. Everyone loses it every now and then, and I did."

The Bobcats, who haven't dropped eight in a row since Feb. 24-March 10, 2007, have been especially bad in their last three games without injured point guard D.J. Augustin (inflamed right big toe). Charlotte has shot just 8 of 35 (22.9 percent) from 3-point range and been outscored by 22.3 points per game with Augustin sidelined.

Averaging 13.6 points and a team-best 6.6 assists, Augustin isn't expected to return until Tuesday at the earliest.

The Bobcats did get leading scorer Gerald Henderson (15.0 ppg) back Friday after he sat out at Washington due to a lower back contusion. However, Henderson was ineffective in the loss to the 76ers, finishing with seven points while shooting 2 of 10 from the field.

Washington's Nick Young, averaging just 11.5 points on the road compared to 19.5 at home, scored 15 against the Rockets but went just 6 of 17 from the floor. John Wall was the only other Wizards player to score in double figures, with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.

Charlotte had taken five straight in this series at home before falling 97-91 on April 3.

McGee's leads Wizards over Bobcats again 102-99

By STEVE REED
Posted Jan 29 2012 1:11AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The Washington Wizards may have found the recipe for winning this season: playing the Charlotte Bobcats.

Well, that and a balanced offensive attack.

The Wizards (4-16) defeated the Bobcats for the second time in four nights Saturday 102-99 as six players scored in double digits, including JaVale McGee, who led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

The week's two wins equal the Wizards' total number of victories in their first 17 games combined.

John Wall added 13 points and 10 assists for the Wizards (4-16). They also got 21 points from Nick Young, while reserves Trevor Booker and Jordan Crawford chipped in with 16 and 12 points, respectively.

"We had good balance," Wall said. "I think tonight nobody cared about who scored. We just went out there and played basketball. That's what you've got to do to win. Some nights it's going to be different people leading in scoring and you've just got to live with it."

Washington's victory offset a terrific performance from rookie Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker, who had 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Walker became the first rookie this season to register a triple-double.

Three rookies accomplished the feat a year ago: Wall, Blake Griffin and Jordan Crawford.

Coach Paul Silas has asked Walker to look for his teammates more since moving over to point guard following the injury to D.J. Augustin last week. On Saturday night Walker seemed to heed the message.

He seemed to see the floor better than he has in his previous three starts at the point.

"I was just more patient tonight," Walker said. "I've been watching a lot of film with the coaches and they've been showing me certain opportunities that I have on the court that I haven't been taking. Tonight, I just took those opportunities and that just made things a lot easier."

Silas said Walker, the ninth overall pick in the NBA draft, is starting to develop some point guard skills, which is encouraging.

"He really is coming along and he's a really good rebounder for his size," Silas said. "He gets in there all the time and he's putting up numbers on the board scoringwise. This is really going to help them, as I told all the guys."

For two teams battling to stay out of the NBA basement, it was a fairly intense game.

Wall said he could sense the Bobcats (3-18) wanted this game after losing earlier this week to the Wizards. The Bobcats have lost eight straight.

"We knew they wanted revenge for what we did to them on Wednesday night so we were coming out knowing it was going to be a tough match," Wall said. "We figured out how to close out the game down the stretch."

Well, sort of.

The Wizards made it more interesting than it needed to be.

Trailing 102-99 with 41.2 seconds left, the Bobcats had a chance to tie, but burned almost the entire shot clock, unable to get a look at an open 3-pointer as the Wizards stepped up the defense. Eventually, Boris Diaw drove the lane but missed and McGee quickly grabbed the rebound.

The Bobcats immediately fouled.

McGee had a chance to put the game on ice but with the Wizards leading by three missed two free throws with 6 seconds remaining. The Bobcats got the rebound off the second miss and called timeout.

They set up an inbounds play but Matt Carroll missed a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"I caught it a little deeper than I wanted and I was kind of hurried," Carroll said. "I had a good look, but it just didn't fall."

It was Washington's first win on the road.

"It feels good to get this first one because it's much earlier than last year," Young said. "It took us like 30-something games last year, so this is a big improvement."

McGee was the latest center to have a field day against the Bobcats, exposing their lack of an interior defense. McGee shot 9 of 14 from the field and had good success using his hook shot.

Booker also ripped up the Bobcats, hitting on all six of his shots, most of those in and around the lane.

"Book, with his ability to roll to the basket and catch and finish was huge," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "I don't think he missed a shot did he? I mean 6 for 6, that was huge."

The Bobcats got a good effort from Diaw, who was back in the starting lineup and contributed 21 points and 10 assists. Byron Mullens scored 23 points, while Carroll and Tyrus Thomas each added 13.

Notes: Washington shot 53 percent from the field and won despite being outrebounded by the smaller Bobcats 42-32. ... The Bobcats were playing without five players, including their two leading scorers: Gerald Henderson and Augustin. Augustin has missed the last four games with a toe injury, while Henderson sat out after re-injuring his back in Friday night's loss to the 76ers.

Notebook: Wizards 102, Bobcats 99

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 28, 2012 10:43PM

THE FACTS: Nick Young scored eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Washington Wizards to a 102-99 win over the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Charlotte had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but the shot by Matt Carroll fell short. It was the second win this week for the Wizards over the Bobcats this week. Charlotte's Byron Mullens led all scorers with 23

QUOTABLE: "It was big. We both had just three wins. We did a good job sharing the ball and getting out on the break tonight. We played hard and we're starting to get it now."
-- Washington guard Nick Young

THE STAT: Road woes. The Wizards were 0-8 on the season away from the Verizon Center. It was the fourth time this season that the Bobcats have given a visiting team their first road win. Washington had just won three of its previous 50 games on the road.

TURNING POINT: Rashard Lewis' steal. The Wizards took the lead for good on a 19-foot jumper from Nick Young. The play got setup off a steal from Lewis after consecutive turnovers by Matt Carroll. Young's jumper capped back-to-back scoring possessions.

HOT: Mullens scored a career-high 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting. It was his third 20-plus point game this season and the 12th time in double figures.

NOT: Free Throws. The Charlotte Bobcats were aggressive and made it to the free throw line Saturday night however they were not effective once they got there. Charlotte was a 73.1 percent free throw shooting team coming into the contest, but made just 17-for-29 (.586) in their three-point loss. Had they shot their average on the season it would have resulted in an extra four points.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: JaVale McGee. The Wizards athletic center turned in a double-double with a team-best 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the seventh double-double for McGee. It was his third straight game with at least 10 rebounds and his first time in double figures since January 22. McGee also added five blocked shots and leads the NBA with 63 on the season.

ROOKIE WATCH: Charlotte rookie guard Kemba Walker had the third triple-double in Bobcats history. Walker went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. His rebound and assists were both career bests. Walker joins Boris Diaw and former Bobcat Stephen Jackson as the other members of the triple-double club. He is the first rookie this season to record a triple-double.

NOTABLE: Bobcats forward Tyrus Thomas notched his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds ... Diaw posted 21 points and a season-high 10 assists for his third double-double on the season ... Carroll was in double figures for the third straight game ... DeSagana Diop tied his career high with four assists ... The 31 assists for Charlotte was a season best ... Wizards forward Trevor Booker recorded a season-high 16 points ... John Wall tied his season high with 10 assists and posted his third double-double of the season ... Young posted his seventh game with 20 or more points and his 18th in double figures.

UP NEXT: For the Wizards, Monday vs. Chicago, Wednesday at Orlando and Friday at Toronto. For the Bobcats, Tuesday at L.A. Lakers, Wednesday at Portland and Saturday at Phoenix.

• Wizards: N'Diaye, Turiaf
• Bobcats: Maggette, Williams

• Wizards: Booker
• Bobcats: Mullens

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 14

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #24 Mike Callahan, #20 Leroy Richardson
• Attendance: 17761
• Duration: 2:21