Wizards-Hornets Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Dec 11 2012 12:58PM

While Anthony Davis will return to the New Orleans Hornets' lineup Tuesday night, recent news surrounding fellow former No. 1 overall pick John Wall hasn't been as promising.

That doesn't bode well for a Washington Wizards team that saw a couple of other key players go down last week.

The Hornets try for a sixth win in eight matchups against the injury-plagued Wizards, who are still seeking their first road victory.

Having lost 12 of 14, New Orleans (5-14) is surely looking forward to getting Davis back on the court. The former Kentucky star missed the last 11 games with a stress reaction in his left ankle, but he was cleared to return Tuesday.

Davis averaged 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots in his first six NBA games.

The NBA-worst Wizards (2-15), meanwhile, have struggled mightily without Wall, who was originally expected to return in late November following a stress injury to his left knee. The first overall selection in 2010, also out of Kentucky, isn't ready to practice and coach Randy Wittman isn't sure when he'll be able to return.

Things aren't about to get any easier for Washington, which lost Trevor Ariza to a strained left calf during last Tuesday's 105-101 win over Miami then suffered another big blow Saturday. A.J. Price, who's started 15 of 17 games in Wall's point guard spot, fractured his right hand four minutes into a 101-97 loss to Golden State and will miss four to six weeks.

"It leaves kind of a salty taste in your mouth," said Price, averaging 8.5 points and a team-best 4.9 assists. "We haven't been 100 percent all at the same time, so it's difficult right now but it's still a long season. We need to continue to try to get ourselves better, get ourselves right so we can get on the court together."

The Wizards, who also continue to play without power forward Trevor Booker (knee), figure to rely on Jordan Crawford all the more with Price out. The guard matched season highs with 22 points and eight assists off the bench Saturday while filling in at the point.

"Definitely tough, unexpected," said Crawford, averaging a team-leading 14.2 points. "Hopefully we can pull it together. I'm just trying to do what I can to help the team win."

Crawford may need to come out with an especially big game Tuesday if he hopes to lead the Wizards to their first road win. Washington, which started 0-25 as the visiting team in 2010-11 and 0-8 last season, has begun 0-8 in opposing arenas again and is the league's only winless road team.

The Wizards had dropped five of six in this series before pulling out a 99-89 victory in New Orleans on March 15 behind 26 points from Wall and 17 from Crawford.

The Hornets are coming off their third straight loss, 106-90 at Miami on Saturday. Ryan Anderson had 24 points while Robin Lopez scored 20, but they couldn't slow down a Heat team that shot a season-best 58.0 percent from the floor.

"We just need to come out and play with energy every night and play with effort. That is what our group is about," Anderson said. "Each night we're focused on us and getting better with this group. We know how good we are when we play right. We're a relentless team. No matter how much we're down we're going to try and fight back."

Tuesday marks the first matchup between these teams since New Orleans traded Ariza and Emeka Okafor to Washington this offseason. Okafor is averaging career lows of 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Wizards.

Crawford leads Wizards over Davis, Hornets 77-70

By GUERRY SMITH
Posted Dec 12 2012 12:00AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jordan Crawford kept shooting. In a game where neither team could hit anything, he finally connected on enough shots to give the shorthanded Washington Wizards a rare road win.

Crawford scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the Wizards spoiled the return of overall No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis, beating the New Orleans Hornets 77-70 on Tuesday night.

Crawford made only nine out of 26 shots - his most attempts since his rookie season in 2010-11 - but he had four of the Wizards' final five baskets.

"I just really wanted to do everything to take the win," he said. "I didn't care how many shots I shot. Turnovers. Nothing. I just wanted to do whatever it took to win."

Bradley Beal added 15 points for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as 13 and never led until the fourth quarter. Washington won for the first time on the road after losing its first eight away from home this season.

Ryan Anderson led New Orleans with 17 points but did not score in the second half, missing all nine of his shots after going 7 of 12 in the first half. Davis, who missed 11 games with a stress reaction in his left ankle, had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The game befitted the team with the worst record in the Eastern Conference (Washington) and the team with the worst in the West (New Orleans). The Wizards shot 32.9 percent, scored 11 points in the first quarter - a season low for any quarter - and had a season-worst 36 points at the half.

"That first quarter, I thought I was getting my teeth pulled at the dentist without any Novacaine," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "It was pretty painful."

The Hornets shot 32.5 percent and scored a season-low 10 points in the fourth quarter, losing for the 13th time in 15 games.

Crawford, normally a reserve shooting guard, started at the point for the first time because A.J. Price fractured his right hand against Golden State last Saturday and will be out four to six weeks. And Price was starting only because 2010 overall top pick John Wall has missed the entire season with a stress injury in his left knee.

"It was different playing the point," Crawford said. "At the beginning of the game, I was thinking about different stuff. Once I got into the game and once I saw what the team needed, I got comfortable."

HIs numbers weren't point-guard like - he shot first and passed second, finishing with four assists - but the Wizards will take it.

"It was good for the first time kind of starting there," Wittman said. "You could see him thinking. It's going to be a little bit of a process, but he came down the stretch and made big shots."

Crawford hit a 3-pointer to give the Wizards a 68-65 lead with 5:09 left, and he sank a tough leaner while drawing a foul from the Hornets' Greivis Vasquez the next time down the floor to make the score 71-65.

"We were stuck on 65-65, kept going back down," Crawford said. "They were missing, we was missing and I just wanted to get that shot to break the ice."

Davis responded with a dunk on an alley-oop from Austin Rivers, the Hornets' first points in nearly four minutes, but another attempted alley-oop from Vasquez to Davis resulted in a turnover that Nene converted into a layup as Washington went ahead 73-67 with 3:00 left.

Davis converted a three-point play in transition to cut the deficit to 73-70 with 1:51 to go, but the Hornets did not score again. After Vasquez missed a wild running hook with just over a minute left, Crawford hit an open 18-footer to put Washington ahead 75-70.

Anderson went 0 for 7 in the fourth quarter.

"I had some great looks," he said. "Those are shots I normally make, and I wouldn't turn them down again. I would shoot them over and over again."

Nene had a double-double for Washington with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Rookie guard Austin Rivers, starting for the first time in 10 games, had 11 points for the Hornets, but only two of them came in the second half.

The first two possessions for both teams set the tone. The Wizards turned the ball over on their first possession and missed their first shot badly. The Hornets clanked their first shot off the backboard and committed a turnover on their second possession.

At one point, the Wizards were 6 of 26 from the floor with almost as many air balls as made shots. Jan Vesely even shot an air ball on a free throw, falling to 3 of 15 for the season at the line.

The Wizards also played without Trevor Ariza, who strained his left calf last Tuesday against Miami, and Trevor Booker (right knee), who started the first six games.

Even with the return of Davis, who scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his last game before getting hurt, the Hornets could not hold on.

"We did not play with the effort that is necessary to win an NBA game," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "You don't deserve to win when you play that way."

NOTES: It was the first NBA game since April 1, 2005 when both teams shot below 33 percent. The Hornets were involved in that one, too, playing the Houston Rockets. ... Davis entered with 4:34 left in the first quarter and played 24:54, just under his average of 26 minutes. ... With its first road win, Washington is ahead of its pace from last year, when it lost its first 25 games away from home.

Notebook: Wizards 77, Hornets 70

Bradley Handwerger, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:34 AM - Updated Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:35 AM

THE FACTS: The Washington Wizards overcame a 10-point first quarter and outscored the New Orleans Hornets by 18 the rest of the way as they picked up their third win of the season with a 77-70 victory Tuesday night.

Jordan Crawford scored a game-high 26 points and had six rebounds to pace the Wizards (3-15), who play at Houston on Wednesday. The guard started for only the fifth time this season and once he got comfortable, the Wizards got going. In the fourth quarter alone he had 12 points, two more than the entire Hornets roster.

The Hornets (5-15) shot just 32.5 percent for the game and weren't helped when leading scorer Ryan Anderson went cold. After going 7-for-12 in the first half for 17 points, he didn't score again, going 0-for-9 from the floor.

Defense and poor shot selection hurt both teams, who combined to shoot 32 percent. The Hornets turned the ball over 16 times, which Washington turned into 16 points. The Wizards gave the ball away 15 times, allowing the Hornets to score 14 points

Washington picked up the win in spite of the return of Anthony Davis for New Orleans. In 25 minutes, his first since missing 11 games with a stress reaction in his left ankle, the rookie scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had three steals and three blocked shots.

QUOTABLE: "That first quarter, I thought was getting my teeth pulled at the dentist without any Novocain. It was pretty painful."

-- Wizards coach Randy Wittman, reflecting on the 11 points his team scored in the opening quarter

THE STAT: 22 -- That's New Orleans' shooting percentage in the second half. The Hornets made just nine shots, including going 1-for-11 from 3-point range. The poor shooting by the Hornets allowed Washington to stay in the game and eventually take the lead in spite of the Wizards shooting just 37 percent in the second half themselves. The Hornets had made better than 42 percent of their shots in the first half in taking a six-point halftime lead.

TURNING POINT: With 11:10 to play in the game, the Hornets still led 62-58. In the ensuing nine-minute stretch, they went cold and the Wizards took advantage. Washington outscored New Orleans 15-5, taking a 73-67 lead with 1:54 to play. The Wizards were able to coast from there as the Hornets were only able to score 28 second-half points. Crawford scored eight points in the stretch.

QUOTABLE II: "[Being] young can't be an excuse all the time. You've been playing basketball your whole life. You've got to know who or what is working. We didn't get that tonight consistently."

-- Hornets coach Monty Williams on the inconsistent play of his guards

NOT: Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez has had better nights. Against the Wizards, he finished the game just 2-for-14 for five points. In fact, he has had a rough past three games. Since a 16-point night on Dec. 5, Vasquez has gone a combined 6-for-26 from the floor.

NOTABLE: The Hornets held Washington to 11 first-quarter points, the fewest in any quarter this season for a New Orleans opponent. Additionally, the 36 points by Washington in the opening two quarters were the fewest first-half points allowed the Hornets have allowed this season. ... Crawford's 26 points were the most scored by a Wizards individual this season. ... Washington's Bradley Beal scored 10-plus points for the 11th time this season. The rookie finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. ... Nene came up with his first double-double this season, coming off the bench for Washington to score 10 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Wednesday @ Oklahoma City, Friday vs. Minnesota, Sunday @ Portland. For the Wizards, Wednesday @ Houston, Friday vs. Lakers, Saturday @ Miami.

• Wizards: Booker, Wall
• Hornets: Gordon

• Wizards: Nene
• Hornets: Vasquez

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #45 Brian Forte, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 10076
• Duration: 2:16