The Washington Wizards have made the Verizon Center a difficult place for visiting teams in recent weeks, and for those that sit atop their division for the entire season. But even with some of the best teams and biggest stars coming to town, their games never had the feel of an event until Wednesday, when the Eastern Conference-leading New York Knicks arrived with Baltimore native and most valuable player candidate Carmelo Anthony.
The game attracted celebrities, such as Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, Kentucky Coach John Calipari and a handful of Washington Redskins, and nearly every play was celebrated, or at least acknowledged by the fans. The Wizards were certainly up for the game, as they jumped out to an early 11-point lead and John Wall excited the crowd by rejecting an Anthony layup attempt.
The Post Sports Live crew debates whether the Wizards can play .500 basketball for the remainder of the season with a healthy John Wall back in the lineup.
The Knicks were hardly going to roll over, and kept it interesting until the final two minutes when Wall found Nene cutting to the basket and Nene hit Martell Webster in the corner for a three-pointer that secured a 106-96 victory. The Wizards have now defeated five teams that led their divisions when they arrived in town, with the Knicks joining Miami, Oklahoma City, Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers, who lost when they visited on Monday.
The Knicks had won 10 consecutive games against the Wizards, including a humiliating 108-87 loss on Nov. 30 in New York, where Anthony scored 20 points and didn’t have to play the fourth quarter. Before the game, Knicks Coach Mike Woodson acknowledged that the Wizards are much better team with Wall back in the lineup. The former No. 1 overall pick certainly made his presence felt as he led the Wizards with 21 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter, and added nine assists to record his first career win over the Knicks.
Wall had plenty of support from Trevor Ariza, who hit five three-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points, Webster, who had 19, and Singleton, who scored 10 points, with nine coming in the fourth quarter. Nene had his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, snagging a crucial offensive rebound in the final minutes after Wall missed a driving layup. Nene got the ball and tossed it softly off the backboard and in to give the Wizards a 99-92 lead. Emeka Okafor added 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Wizards led 61-52 when Okafor made a running bank shot with 6:35 left in the third quarter, but the Knicks staged a 21-7 run and took a 73-68 lead when point guard Raymond Felton stole the ball from backup A.J. Price and fed Anthony for a finger roll.
Wall then ended the period with a quick drive to the basket. Ariza opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer from the right corner, but he turned it into a four-point play after coercing Anthony into fouling him.
Chris Singleton worked himself back into the rotation after an extended period of inactivity and provided some much-needed hustle and a little offense. He buried a three-pointer to give the Wizards an 85-77 lead. Anthony then answered with a three-pointer of his own before Ariza hit a three-pointer on the other end.
Ariza was pushed into a reserve role when Webster began to play well after Ariza went down for 17 games with a strained left calf. An eight-year veteran, Ariza decided to consider himself a “sixth starter” instead accepting the demotion as an insult. He played easily his best game since returning from injury, providing a steadying, calming influence. Late in the game, Ariza rebounded a Webster miss and fought his way inside for a layup that put the Wizards ahead 101-93. Anthony responded with two free throws before Webster put the game out of reach with his fifth three-pointer of the game.
The Wizards connected on 11 of 20 from long distance against the Knicks, who entered the game ranked first in three-point attempts and second in three-point shooting percentage. But the Knicks were just 9 of 28 from three-point range. Outside of Anthony (31 points) and Felton (17 points), the other Knicks were just 2 of 15 from beyond the three-point line.
The game also got testy in the second quarter, when Wall tried to use a crossover dribble, but got a little too creative and was called for a discontinued dribble. He still tried to make the unnecessary layup but Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire knocked Wall back, upsetting Wall. Wall approached Stoudemire to share some words with him, then Stoudemire followed Wall up the court, bumping Wall two times before Wall pushed back. Stoudemire shoved Wall, who had to be held back by his teammates.
Stoudemire and Wall were both assessed technical fouls, but the Wizards scored the final six points of the first half, taking a 51-48 lead into the locker room after Ariza made a three-pointer.
